1 


A-HENIlY5AVAGE-LAND0li 


WAYNE  S.  VUCINICH 


HNIVBISITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SAN  w«cvtw 
lA  JOILA,  CAUf OHHIA 


r^  J 


ACROSS 
COVETED     LANDS 


WAYW£  S.  WCINICH 


'roll  I 


His  Majesty  thk  Shah  ok  Teksia. 


ACROSS 
COVETED    LANDS 


OR 


A  JOURNEY  FROM  FLUSHING  (HOLLAND) 
TO  CALCUTTA,  OVERLAND 


BY 

A.    HENRY    SAVAGE    LANDOR 


rflTH    175    ILLUSTRATIONS,    DIAGRAMS,    PLANS   AND    MAPS 
BY  AUTHOR 


IN    TWO   VOLUMES 

VOL.  I 


NEW    YORK 
CHARLES    SCRIBNERS    SONS 

'53    '57     '■'II'TH     AVliNUK 
1903 


Richard  Clay  and  Sons,  Limited, 
london  and  bungay 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  face  page 

His  Majesty  the  Shah  of  Persia Frontispiece. 

The  Baku  Oil  Wells 20 

The  Amir  of  Bokhara  leaving  Baku  to  return  to  his  Country  26 

Persian  Wrestling 38 

Fourgons  on  the  Russian  Road  between  Resht  and  Teheran  50 

Making  a  Kanat 74 

The  Murderer  of  Nasr-ed-din  Shah 90 

Persian  Cossacks  (Teheran)  Drilled  by  Russian  Officers     .  100 

The  Effetaieh  College,  supported  by  Meftah-el-Mulk  ...  102 

H.  E.  Mushir-ed-Doulet,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  ...  106 

Persian  Soldiers — The  Band 112 

Recruits  learning  Music 112 

The  Arrival  of  a  Caravan  of  Silver  at  the  Imperial  Bank 

of  Persia 126 

The  Imperial  Bank  of  Persia  Decorated  on  the  Shah's 

Birthday  , 134 

A    Typical    Persian    Window.      (Mr.     Rabino's    House, 

Teheran.) 140 

The  First  Position  in  Persian  Wrestling 158 

Palawans,   or  Strong   Men  giving  a   Display  of  Feats  of 

Strength 158 

Iman  Jumeh.     Head  Priest  of  Teheran,  and  Official  Sayer 

of  Prayers  to  the  Shah 170 

Sahib  Divan,   who   was   at   various    ])eriods  Governor   of 

Shiraz  and  Khorassan 190 

Persian  Woman  and  Child 206 


vi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  face  page 

A  Picturesque  Beggar  Girl 206 

Ruku  Sultaneh,  Brother  of  the  present  Shah 218 

The  Shah  in  his  Automobile 224 

The  Sadrazam's  (Prime  Minister's)  Residence,  Teheran  .    .  224 

In  the  Shah's  Palace  Grounds,  Teheran .    .  230 

The  Shah  and  his  Suite 240 

Rock  Sculpture  near  Shah- Abdul- Azim 244 

Author's  Diligence  between  Teheran  and  Kum 244 

The  Track  along  the  Kohrut  Dam 270 

Between  Gyabrabad  and  Kohrut 270 

The  Interior  of  Chappar  Khana  at  Kohrut      272 

Chapparing — the  Author's  post  horses 278 

Persian  Escort  firing  at  Brigands 278 

Jewish  Girls,  Isfahan 292 

An  Isfahan  Jew 292 

The  Square,  Isfahan 298 

The  Palace  Gate,  Isfahan 304 

Boys  Weaving  a  Carpet 314 

Cotton  Cleaners 314 

Handsome  Doorway  in  the  Madrassah,  Isfahan 322 

One  of  Zil-es-Sultan's  Eunuchs 326 

The  "  Hall  of  Forty  Columns,"  Isfahan 326 

The  Quivering  Minarets  near  Isfahan 330 

H.R.H.  Zil-es-Sultan,  Governor  of  Isfahan 350 

Agriculture  and  Pigeon  Towers  near  Isfahan 352 

Persian  Spinning  Wheels  and  Weaving  Looms 366 

Halting  at  a  Caravanserai 380 

A  Street  in  Yezd,  showing  High  Badjirs  or  Ventilating  Shafts  380 
Ardeshir  Meheban  Irani  and  the  Leading  Members  of  the 

Anguman-i-Nasseri  (Parsee  National  Assembly),  Yezd  394 
Parsee  Priests  of  Yezd  Officiating   during    Ceremony  in 

their  Fire  Temple 400 

Interior  of  Old  Caravanserai  with  Central  Water  Tank  .    .  410 
Typical  Caravanserai  and  Mud  Fort  in  the  Desert  between 

Yezd  and  Kerman 414 

A  Trade  Caravanserai,  Kerman 414 

H.  E.  Ala-el-Mulk,  Governor  of  Kerman,  in  his  Palace     .  432 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  vii 

To  face  page 
Tiled  Walls  and  Picturesque  Windows  in  the  Madrassah, 

Kerman 438 

Sirkar  Agha's  Son,  the  Head  of  the  Sheikhi  Sect,  Kerman  .  438 

The  Interior  of  a  Hammam  or  Bath — First  Room      .    .    ,  442 

The  Hot  Room  in  a  Persian  Bath 444 

The  Kala-i-Dukhtar  or  Virgin  Fort 444 

Graveyard  and  Kala-i-Dukhtar  or  Virgin  Fort,  Kerman  .    .  446 

Ruined  Houses  of  Farmitan 45° 

Plan  of  House  at  Farmitan 45° 

A  Steep  Rock  Climb,  Kerman 454 

A  View  of  the  Kerman  Plain  from  the  "  Ya  Ali  "  Inscription  458 

Wives  Returning  from  the  Pilgrimage  for  Sterile  Women  .  458 


Map  at  the  End  of  Volume. 


ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS 


CHAPTER  I 

The  start — The  terrors  of  the  Russian  Custom-house — An 
amusing  incident  at  the  Russian  frontier — PoHteness  of 
Russian  officials — Warsaw  :  its  sights  ;  its  lovely  women — 
The  talented  Pole — People  who  know  how  to  travel  by- 
train — A  ludicrous  scene. 

"  First  single  to  Baku,"  I  requested  when 
my  turn  came  at  the  window  of  the  ticket  office 
at  Victoria  Station. 

"  Baku  ? — where  is  that  ?  "   queried  the  ticket 
man. 

"  In  Southern  Russia." 

"  Oh,  I  see  !  Well,  we  cannot  book  further 
than  Warsaw  for  Russia." 

"  Warsaw   will  do How   much  .?  .   .  . 

Thank  you." 

Mv  baggage  having  next  been  duly  registered 
direct  for  the  capital  of  Poland,  off  I  set  to 
Queenborough,  crossed  over  by  the  night  boat 
to  Flushing,  and  continued  the  following  morning 
by  express  to  Berlin. 

Once  in  the   Russian  train  from   the    German 

VOL.    I  B 


2  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

capital  one  hears  a  great  deal  of  the  terrors  of  the 
approaching  Russian  Custom-house,  and  here  I 
may  relate  rather  an  amusing  incident  which 
will  prove  what  these  terrors  amount  to.  In  my 
sleeping  car  there  happened  to  be  some  French 
merchants  on  their  way  to  the  fair  of  Nijni- 
Novgorod.  On  perceiving  my  two  rifles,  a  good- 
sized  ammunition  case,  and  two  cameras,  one  of 
the  gentlemen  gratuitously  informed  me  that  if  I 
intended  to  proceed  to  Russia  I  had  better  leave 
all  these  things  behind,  or  they  would  all  be  con- 
fiscated at  the  frontier.  I  begged  to  differ,  and 
the  Frenchmen  laughed  boisterously  at  my 
ignorance,  and  at  what  would  happen  presently. 
In  their  imaginative  minds  they  perceived  my 
valued  firearms  being  lost  for  ever,  and  predicted 
my  being  detained  at  the  police  station  till  it 
pleased  les  terribles  Cossacques  to  let   me  proceed. 

"  Evidently,"  shouted  one  of  the  Frenchmen 
at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  this  is  your  first  journey 
abroad.  .  .  .  JVe,''  he  added,  "  are  great  travel- 
lers.    We  have  been  once  before  in  Russia." 

"  You  are  great  travellers  !  "  I  exclaimed,  with 
the  emphasis  very  strong  on  the  are,  and  pre- 
tending intense  admiration. 

Naturally  the  Franco-Russian  Alliance  was 
dragged  into  the  conversation  ;  were  I  a  French- 
man I  might  fare  less  badly.  The  Russians  and 
the  French  were  brothers.  But  a  British 
subject  !  A  hated  Englishman  bringing  into 
Russia  two  rifles,  two  revolvers,  six  hundred  cart- 
ridges, twelve  hundred  photographic  plates,  two 
cameras,  a  large  case  of  scientific  instruments,  all 


I  AN  AMUSING  INCIDENT  3 

of  which  I  would  duly  declare  !  Why?  Russia 
was  not  England.  I  should  soon  experience  how 
Englishmen  were  treated  in  some  countries. 
"  Russians,"  he  exclaimed,  "  have  not  a  poUshed 
manner  like  the  French.  Ah^  non !  They  are 
semi-barbarians  yet.  They  respect  and  fear  the 
French,  but  not  the  EngUsh.   .   .   .  par  exemple!'' 

The  frontier  station  of  Alexandrovo  was 
reached,  and  a  horde  of  terror-stricken  passengers 
alighted  from  the  carriages,  preceded  and  followed 
by  bags,  portmanteaux,  hold-alls,  and  bundles  of 
umbrellas,  which  were  hastily  conveyed  to  the 
long  tables  of  the  huge  Custom-house  inspection 
room. 

The  two  Frenchmen  had  their  belongings  next 
to  mine  on  the  long  counter,  and  presently  an 
officer  came.  They  were  French  subjects  and 
they  had  nothing  to  declare.  Their  elaborately 
decorated  bags  were  instantly  ordered  open  and 
turned  upside  down,  while  the  officer  searched 
with  some  gusto  among  the  contents  now  spread 
on  the  table.  There  was  a  small  pocket  camera, 
two  packets  of  photographic  plates,  some  soiled 
handkerchiefs,  collars  and  cuffs,  a  box  of  fancy 
note-paper,  a  bottle  of  scent,  a  pair  of  em- 
broidered pantoufles,  and  a  lot  of  patent  brass 
studs  and  cufflinks. 

With  the  exception  of  the  soiled  linen,  every- 
thing was  seized,  for  all  were  liable  to  duty,  and 
some  sharp  words  of  reprimand  were  used  by  the 
officer  to  my  now  subdued  French  neighbours  for 
attempting  to  smuggle. 

The  officer  moved  on  to  me. 

B    2 


4  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

"  Monsieur,"  mournfully  remarked  the  French- 
man, "  now  you  will  be  done  for." 

I  declared  everything  and  produced  a  special 
permit,  which  had  been  very  courteously  given 
me  by  the  Russian  Ambassador,  and  handed  it 
to  the  officer.  Having  eagerly  read  it,  he  stood 
with  his  heels  together  and  gave  me  a  military 
salute.  With  a  profound  bow  he  begged  me  to 
point  out  to  him  all  my  luggage  so  that  he  could 
have  it  stamped  without  giving  me  further 
trouble.  He  politely  declined  to  use  the  keys  I 
handed  him,  and  thinking  that  I  might  feel 
uncomfortable  in  the  hustling  crowd  of  people  he 
conveyed  me  to  a  chair  in  order  that  I  might  sit 
down. 

I  turned  round  to  look  at  the  Frenchmen. 
They  had  altogether  collapsed. 

"  I  thought  you  said  that  Englishmen  were 
hated  in  Russia,  and  that  they  would  confiscate 
all  my  things  ?  You  see  they  have  confiscated 
nothing,"  I  meekly  remarked  to  the  Frenchmen, 
when  they  returned  to  the  sleeping  car.  "  I  do 
not  think  that  I  have  met  with  more  polite 
Customs  officials  anywhere." 

"  0«/,  oiii,''  muttered  the  stouter  Frenchman, 
who  was  evidently  in  no  mood  to  enter  into  fur- 
ther conversation.  "  Et  ii'ms  autres  betes ^'  he  solilo- 
quized, "  qui  avons  fait  T alliance  avec  ces  sauvages 
la  I     Oj2  ma  tout  pris  me  me  le  papier  a  lettres  I  " 

He  removed  his  coat  and  waistcoat  and  the 
many  interesting  patent  appliances  for  holding 
his  tie  in  the  correct  position — where  it  never 
remained — then  he  threw    himself  violently   on 


I  WARSAW  5 

the  berth,  face  towards  the  wall,  and  grumbled 
the  greater  part  of  the  night  on  the  stupid  mistake 
of  the  Franco-Russian  Alliance.  On  his  return 
to  France  he  would  write  a  letter  to  the  Ministre 
des  Affaires  Etrangeres.  After  a  long  and  tedious 
soliloquy  he  fortunately  fell  asleep. 

Warsaw  on  the  Vistula,  the  old  capital  of 
Poland,  was  reached  in  the  morning. 

The  quickest  way  to  Baku  would  have  been  to 
proceed  to  Moscow  and  then  by  the  so-called 
"  petroleum  express,"  which  leaves  once  a  week, 
every  Tuesday,  for  Baku.  Unluckily,  I  could 
not  reach  Moscow  in  time,  and  therefore  decided 
to  travel  across  Russia  by  the  next  best  route,  via 
Kiev,  Rostoff,  and  the  Caspian.  The  few  hours 
I  remained  in  Warsaw  were  pleasantly  spent  in 
going  about  seeing  the  usual  sights  ;  the  Palace 
and  lovely  Lazienski  gardens,  laid  out  in  the 
old  bed  of  the  Vistula  ;  the  out-of-door  theatre 
on  a  small  island,  the  auditorium  being  separated 
by  water  from  the  stage  ;  the  lakes,  the  Saski 
Ogrod,  and  the  Krasinski  public  gardens  ;  the 
Jewish  quarter  of  the  town  ;  the  museums  of 
ancient  and  modern  art. 

There  are  few  cities  in  Europe  that  are  prettier, 
cleaner,  and  more  animated  than  Warsaw,  and  few 
women  in  the  world  that  have  a  better  claim  to 
good  looks  than  the  Warsaw  fair  sex.  The 
majority  of  women  one  sees  in  the  streets  are 
handsome,  and  carry  themselves  well,  and  their 
dress  is  in  good  taste,  never  over-done  as  it  is  in 
Paris,  for  instance. 

The  whole  city  has  a  flourishing  appearance, 


6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

with  its  tramways,  gay  omnibuses,  electric  light, 
telephones,  and  every  modern  convenience.  The 
streets  are  broad  and  cheerful.  In  the  newer 
parts  of  the  city  there  are  beautiful  residences, 
several  of  which,  I  was  told,  belong  to  British 
subjects  settled  there.  The  Russian  miHtary 
element  is  very  strong,  for  Poland's  love  for 
Russia  is  not  yet  very  great.  As  we  walk  along 
the  main  thoroughfares  a  long  string  of  Cossacks, 
in  their  long  black  felt  cloaks  and  Astrakan  caps, 
canter  along.  They  are  a  remarkably  picturesque 
and  business-like  lot  of  soldiers. 

Poles  are  civility  itself,  that  is,  of  course,  if  one 
is  civil  to  them. 

Historically  the  place  is  of  extreme  interest, 
and  the  battlefields  of  Novogeorgievsk,  which 
played  such  an  important  part  in  the  Polish 
insurrection  of  1831,  and  of  Grochowo,  where 
the  Poles  were  defeated,  are  well  worth  a  visit. 
At  Maciejowice,  too,  some  fifty  miles  up  the 
Vistula,  Kosciuzko  was  made  prisoner  by  the 
conquering  Russians. 

Warsaw  is  the  third  largest  city  in  the  Russian 
Empire,  and  its  favourable  geographical  position 
makes  it  one  of  the  great  pivots  of  Eastern 
Europe.  With  a  navigable  river  and  the  great 
main  railway  lines  to  important  centres  such  as 
Berlin,  Vienna,  Moscow,  St.  Petersburg,  Dantzig, 
Kiev,  and  Odessa,  with  good  climatic  conditions, 
and  fertile  soil  ;  with  the  pick  of  natural  talent 
in  art  and  science,  and  the  love  for  enterprise  that 
is  innate  in  the  Polish  character,  Warsaw  cannot 
help  being  a  prosperous  place. 


I  TANNERIES  OF  WARSAW  7 

The  city  has  very  extensive  suburbs.  The 
best  known  to  foreigners,  Praga,  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  Vistula,  is  connected  with 
Warsaw  by  two  iron  bridges.  Warsaw  itself  is 
built  on  terraces,  one  above  another,  along  the 
bank  of  the  river,  but  the  main  portion  of  the 
city  stands  on  a  high  undulating  plain  above. 
There  are  over  a  hundred  Catholic,  several 
Greek  churches,  and  a  number  of  synagogues  ; 
a  university,  schools  of  art,  academies,  fourteen 
monasteries,  and  two  nunneries. 

There  are  few  places  in  the  world  where  the 
artisan  or  the  common  workman  is  more  intel- 
ligent and  artistic,  and  where  the  upper  classes 
are  more  refined  and  soundly  cultured,  than  in 
Warsaw.  With  a  certain  reflex  of  the  neigh- 
bouring German  commercial  influence,  the  place 
has  become  a  thriving  manufacturing  and  trading 
centre.  Machinery,  excellent  pianos  and  other 
musical  instruments,  carriages,  silver  and  electro- 
plate, boots  and  leather  goods  are  manufactured 
and  exported  on  a  large  scale.  The  tanneries  of 
Warsaw  are  renowned  the  world  over,  and  the 
Warsaw  boots  are  much  sought  after  all  over  the 
Russian  Empire  for  their  softness,  lightness  and 
durability.  Then  there  are  great  exports  of 
wheat,  flax,  sugar,  beer,  spirits,  and  tobacco. 

But  time  is  short,  and  we  must  drive  to  the 
station.  Say  what  you  will  about  the  Russian, 
there  is  a  thing  that  he  certainly  knows  how  to 
do.  He  knows  how  to  travel  by  rail.  One  has 
a  great  many  preconceived  ideas  of  the  Russian 
and  his  ways.      One  is  always  reminded  that   he 


8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

is  a  barbarian,  that  he  is  ignorant,  that  he  is 
dirty.  He  is  possibly  a  barbarian  in  one  way, 
that  he  can  differentiate  good  from  bad,  real 
comfort  from  "  optical  illusions  "  or  illusions  of 
any  other  kind,  a  thing  highly  civilised  people 
seem  generally  unable  to  do.  This  is  particularly 
noticeable  in  Russian  railway  travelling, — prob- 
ably the  best  and  cheapest  in  the  world. 

To  begin  with,  when  you  take  a  first-class 
ticket  it  entitles  you  to  a  seat  numbered  and 
reserved  that  nobody  can  appropriate.  No 
more  tickets  are  sold  than  correspond  with  the 
accommodation  provided  in  the  train.  This 
does  away  entirely  with  the  "  leaving  one's 
umbrella  "  business,  to  secure  a  seat,  or  scattering 
one's  belongings  all  over  the  carriage  to  ensure  the 
whole  compartment  to  one's  self,  to  the  incon- 
venience of  other  travellers.  Then  first,  second 
and  third-class  passengers  are  provided  with 
sleeping  accommodation.  The  sleeping  accom- 
modation, especially  for  first  and  second-class 
passengers,  consists  of  a  wide  and  long  berth 
wherein  they  can  turn  round  at  their  will,  if 
they  please,  not  of  a  short,  narrow  bunk  in 
which  even  a  lean  person  has  to  lie  edgewise  or 
roll  out,  as  in  the  continental  sleeping  car,  for 
which  discomfort  (rather  than  accommodation) 
preposterous  extra  charges  have  to  be  paid, 
above  the  first-class  fare.  Then,  too,  in  the 
latter  the  compartments  are  so  small,  so 
ridiculously  ventilated,  that  after  one  night 
spent  boxed  in,  especially  if  another  passenger 
shares  the  same   cabin,  one   feels   sick   for  some 


I    COMFORTABLE  RAILWAY  TRAVELLING  9 

hours,  and  in  the  day-time  one  has  no  room  to 
turn  round,  nor  space  to  put  one's  legs.  As  for 
the  lighting,  the  less  said  the  better.  These 
faults  exist  in  our  own  and  the  continental  first- 
class  compartments. 

But  the  barbarian  Russian  knows  and  does 
better.  The  line  being  of  a  very  broad  gauge, 
his  first-class  carriages  are  extremely  spacious  and 
very  high,  with  large  windows  and  efiicacious 
ventilators  ;  and  there  is  plenty  of  room  every- 
where to  spread  one's  limbs  in  every  direction. 
There  is  probably  less  gilding  about  the  ceiling, 
fewer  nickel-plated  catches  about  the  doors  ;  not 
so  much  polished  wood,  nor  ghastly  coloured 
imitation-leather  paper,  nor  looking-glasses,  but 
very  convenient  folding-tables  are  found  instead  ; 
the  seats  are  ample  and  serviceable,  of  plain, 
handsome  red  velvet,  devoid  of  the  innumerable 
dust-collecting  button-pits — that  striking  feature 
of  British  and  continental  railway-carriage  deco- 
ration. Movable  cushions  are  provided  for  one's 
back  and  head.  There  are  bright  electric  lights 
burning  overhead,  and  adjustable  reading  lights 
in  the  corners  of  the  carriage.  A  corridor  runs 
along  the  whole  train,  and  for  a  few  kopeks 
passengers  can  at  any  moment  procure  excellent 
tea,  caviare  sandwiches,  or  other  light  refresh- 
ments from  attendants. 

Now  for  the  bedding  itself.  The  Russian, 
who  is  ever  a  practical  man,  carries  his  own 
bedding — a  couple  of  sheets,  blankets,  and  small 
pillow, — a  custom  infinitely  cleaner  and  more 
sensible  than  sleeping  in  dubious,  smelly  blankets 


lo  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

of  which  one  does  not  know  who  has  used  them 
before,  nor  when  they  were  washed  last.  But 
if  passengers  wish,  by  paying  a  rouble  (two 
shillings)  a  night  to  the  guard,  bedding  is  pro- 
vided by  the  Railway.  There  is  a  fine  lavabo  at 
the  end  of  each  carriage,  with  shampoo,  hot  and 
cold  water,  etc.  Here,  too,  by  asking  the  guard, 
towels  are  handed  over  to  those  passengers  who 
have  not  brought  their  own. 

Here  I  may  relate  another  amusing  incident. 
Unable  to  get  at  my  towels  packed  in  my  regis- 
tered baggage,  and  ignorant  of  the  Russian  lan- 
guage, I  inquired  of  a  polyglot  fellow-passenger 
what  was  the  Russian  word  for  towel,  so  that  I 
could  ask  the  guard  for  one. 

"  Palatiensi^'  said  he,  and  I  repeated,  "  Pala- 
tiensi,  palatiensi,  palatiensi,"  so  as  to  impress  the 
word  well  upon  my  memory.  Having  enjoyed 
a  good  wash  and  a  shampoo,  and  dripping  all 
over  with  water,  I  rang  for  the  guard,  and  sure 
enough,  when  the  man  came,  I  could  not  re- 
collect the  word.  At  last  it  dawned  upon  me 
that  it  was, — "  P alatinski^'  and  "  Palatinski^'  I 
asked  of  the  guard. 

To  my  surprise  the  guard  smiled  graciously, 
and  putting  on  a  modest  air  replied  :  "  Palatinski 
niet^  paruski  (I  do  not  speak  Latin,  I  speak  only 
Russian),"  and  the  more  I  repeated  "palatinski," 
putting  the  inflection  now  on  one  syllable,  then 
on  the  other,  to  make  him  understand,  the  more 
flattered  the  man  seemed  to  be,  and  modestly 
gave  the  same  answer. 

This  was  incomprehensible  to  me,   until    my 


I      "  PALATIENSI  "  NOT  "  PALATINSKI  "     1 1 

polyglot  fellow-passenger  came  to  my  assist- 
ance. 

"  Do  you  know  what  you  are  asking  the 
guard  ?  "  he  said  in  convulsions  of  laughter. 

"  Yes,  I  am  asking  for  a  '  palatinski ' — a  towel." 

"  No,  you  are  not  !  "  and  he  positively  v.^'ent 
into  hysterics.  "  Palatinski  means  '  Do  you 
speak  Latin  ? '  How  can  you  expect  a  Russian 
railway-guard  to  speak  Latin  ?  Look  how  in- 
censed the  poor  man  is  at  being  mistaken  for  a 
Latin  scholar  !  Ask  him  for  a  palatiensi,  and  he 
will  run  for  a  towel." 

The  man  did  run  on  the  magic  word  being 
pronounced,  and  duly  returned  with  a  nice  clean 
palatiensi^  which,  however,  was  little  use  to  me 
for  I  had  by  this  time  nearly  got  dry  by  the 
natural  processes  of  dripping  and  evaporation. 

One  or  two  other  similar  incidents,  and  the 
extreme  civility  one  meets  from  every  one  while 
travelling  in  Russia,  passed  the  time  away 
pleasantly  until  Kiev,  one  of  the  oldest  cities  of 
Russia,  was  reached. 


CHAPTER  II 

Kiev — Its  protecting  Saint — Intellectuality  and  trade — Priests 
and  education — Wherein  lies  the  strength  of  Russia — 
Industries — A  famous  Monastery — The  Catacombs  of  St. 
Theodosius  and  St.  Anthony — Pilgrims — Veneration  ot 
Saints — The  Dnieper  river— Churches — A  luminous  cross 
— KharkofF —  Agriculture  —  Horse  fairs— Rostoff — Votka 
drunkenness — Strong  fortifications — Cheap  and  good  travel- 
ling— Baku. 

Tradition  tells  us  that  Kiev  was  founded 
before  the  Christian  era,  and  its  vicissitudes  have 
since  been  many  and  varied.  It  has  at  all  times 
been  considered  one  of  the  most  important 
ecclesiastical  centres  of  Russia, — if  not  indeed 
the  most  important — but  particularly  since  St. 
Vladimir,  the  protecting  saint  of  the  city, 
preached  Christianity  there  in  988,  this  being 
the  first  time  that  the  religion  of  Christ  had 
been  expounded  in  Russia.  A  century  and  a 
half  before  that  time  (in  822)  Kiev  was  the 
capital  city  of  the  state  and  remained  such  till 
1 169.  In  1240  it  was  captured  by  Mongols 
who  held  it  for  81  years.  The  Lithuanians 
came  next,  and  remained  in  possession  for  249 
years,  until  1569  ;  then  Poland  possessed  it  until 
the  year  1654,  when  it  became  part  of  the 
Russian   Empire. 


CHAP.  II  KIEV  13 

Kiev  has  the  name  of  being  a  very  intellectual 
city.  Somehow  or  other,  intellectuality  and 
trade  do  not  seem  to  go  together,  and  although 
the  place  boasts  of  a  military  school  and  arsenal, 
theological  colleges,  a  university,  a  school  of 
sacred  picture  painters,  and  a  great  many  scientific 
and  learned  societies,  we  find  that  none  of  these 
are  locally  put  to  any  marked  practical  use, 
except  the  sacred-picture  painting  ;  the  images 
being  disposed  of  very  rapidly,  and  for  com- 
paratively high  prices  all  over  the  country. 
Hardly  any  rehgious  resorts  are  great  commercial 
centres,  the  people  of  these  places  being  generally 
conservative  and  bigoted  and  the  ruling  priestly 
classes  devoting  too  much  attention  to  idealism 
to  embark  in  commercial  enterprise,  which  leaves 
little  time  for  praying.  Agriculture  and  horti- 
culture are  encouraged  and  give  good  results. 

The  priests  make  money — plenty  of  it — by 
their  religion,  and  they  probably  know  that  there 
is  nothing  more  disastrous  to  religion  in  laymen 
than  rapid  money-making  by  trade  or  otherwise. 
With  money  comes  education,  and  with  educa- 
tion, too  powerful  a  light  thrown  upon  super- 
stition and  idolatry.  It  is  nevertheless  possible, 
even  probable,  that  in  the  ignorance  of  the 
masses,  in  the  fervent  and  unshaken  confidence 
which  they  possess  in  God,  the  Czar  and  their 
leaders,  may  yet  lie  the  greatest  strength  of 
Russia.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  half- 
educated,  or  half  uneducated,  masses  are  probably 
the  weakness  to-day  of  most  other  civilised 
nations. 


14  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Some  business  on  a  small  scale,  however,  is 
transacted  at  the  various  fairs  held  in  Kiev,  such 
as  the  great  fair  at  the  beginning  of  the  Russian 
year.  There  are  many  beet-root  sugar  refineries, 
the  staple  industry  of  the  country,  and  next  come 
leather  tanneries,  worked  leather,  machinery, 
spirits,  grain  and  tobacco.  Wax  candles  are 
manufactured  in  huge  quantities,  and  in  the 
monastery  there  is  a  very  ancient  printing-press 
for  religious  books. 

Peter  the  Great  erected  a  fortress  here  in  a 
most  commanding  spot.  It  is  said  to  contain 
up-to-date  guns.  A  special  pass  has  to  be 
obtained  from  the  military  authorities  to  be 
allowed  to  enter  it,  not  so  much  because  it  is 
used  as  an  arsenal,  but  because  from  the  high 
tower  a  most  excellent  panoramic  view  is 
obtained  of  the  city,  the  neighbourhood,  and  the 
course  of  the  river  down  below. 

But  Kiev  is  famous  above  all  for  its  monastery, 
the  Kievo-Petcherskaya,  near  which  the  two 
catacombs  of  St.  Theodosius  and  St.  Antony 
attract  over  three  hundred  thousand  pilgrims 
every  year.  The  first  catacomb  contains  forty-five 
bodies  of  saints,  the  other  eighty  and  the  revered 
remains  are  stored  in  plain  wood  or  silver- 
mounted  coffins,  duly  labelled  with  adequate 
inscriptions.  The  huge  monastery  itself  bears 
the  appearance  of  great  wealth,  and  has  special 
accommodation  for  pilgrims.  As  many  as 
200,000  pilgrims  are  said  to  receive  board  and 
lodging  yearly  in  the  monastery.  These  are 
naturally  pilgrims  of  the  lower  classes. 


II  IN  THE  CATACOMBS  15 

Enormous    riches    in    solid    gold,    silver    and 
jewellery  are    stored   in    the    monastery   and   are 
daily  increased  by  devout  gifts. 
But  let  us  visit  the  catacombs. 
The   spare-looking,   long-haired    and    bearded 
priests  at  the  entrance  of  the  catacomb  present 
to    each    pilgrim,   as    a    memento,   a  useful    and 
much  valued  wax  candle,  which  one  lights  and 
carries     in     one's     hand     down     the     steep    and 
slippery  steps  of  the  subterranean  passages.     xAU 
along,    the    procession    halts    before    mummified 
and    most     unattractive     bodies,    a     buzzing    of 
prayers  being   raised  by  the  pilgrims  when  the 
identity  of  each  saint  is  explained  by  the  priest 
conducting  the  party.     The  more  devout  people 
stoop  over  the  bodies  and  kiss    them    fervently 
all    over,    voluntarily    and    gladly    disbursing    in 
return   for   the  privilege  all  such  small  cash   as 
may  lie  idle  in  their  pockets. 

Down  and  down  the  crowd  goes  through 
the  long  winding,  cold,  damp,  rancid-smelling 
passages,  devoid  of  the  remotest  gleam  of 
ventilation,  and  where  one  breathes  air  so  thick 
and  foul  that  it  sticks  to  one's  clothes  and  furs 
one's  tongue,  throat  and  lungs  for  several  hours 
after  one  has  emerged  from  the  catacombs  into 
fresh  air  again.  Yet  there  are  hermit  monks 
who  spend  their  lives  underground  without  ever 
coming  up  to  the  light,  and  in  doing  so  become 
bony,  discoloured,  ghastly  creatures,  with  staring, 
inspired  eyes  and  hollow  cheeks,  half  demented 
to  all  appearance,  but  much  revered  and 
respected  by   the  crowds  for  their  self-sacrifice. 


1 6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Further  on  the  pilgrims  drink  holy  water 
out  of  a  small  cup  made  in  the  shape  of  a  cross, 
with  which  the  liquid  is  served  out  from  a 
larger  vessel.  The  expression  of  beatitude  on 
their  faces  as  they  sip  of  the  holy  water,  and 
their  amazing  reverence  for  all  they  see  and 
are  told  to  do,  are  quite  extraordinary  to  watch, 
and  are  quite  refreshing  in  these  dying  days  of 
idealism  supplanted  by  fast-growing  and  less 
poetic  atheistic  notions.  The  scowl  I  received 
from  the  priest  when  my  turn  came  and  he 
lifted  the  tin  cross  to  my  lips,  is  still  well 
impressed  upon  my  mind.  I  drew  back  and 
politely  declined  to  drink.  There  was  a 
murmur  of  strong  disapproval  from  all  the 
people  present,  and  the  priest  grumbled  some- 
thing ;  but  really,  what  with  the  fetid  smell 
of  tallow-candle  smoke,  the  used-up  air,  and 
the  high  scent  of  pilgrims — and  religious  people 
ever  have  a  pungent  odour  peculiar  to  them- 
selves— water,  whether  holy  or  otherwise,  was 
about  the  very  beverage  that  would  have 
finished  me  up  at  that  particular  moment. 

Glad  I  was  to  be  out  in  the  open  air  again, 
driving  through  the  pretty  gardens  of  Kiev, 
and  to  enjoy  the  extensive  view  from  the  high 
cliffs  overlooking  the  winding  Dnieper  River. 
A  handsome  suspension  bridge  joins  the  two 
banks.  The  river  is  navigable  and  during  the 
spring  floods  the  water  has  been  known  to  rise 
as  much  as  twenty  feet. 

The  city  of  Kiev  is  situated  on  high  undulat- 
ing ground  some  350  feet  above  the  river,  and 


II  A  LUMINOUS  CROSS  17 

up  to  1837  consisted  of  the  old  town,  Podol 
and  Petchersk,  to  which  forty-two  years  later 
were  added  Shulyavka,  Solomenka,  Kurenevka 
and  Lukyanovka,  the  city  being  divided  into 
eight  districts.  The  more  modern  part  of  the 
town  is  very  handsome,  with  wide  streets  and 
fine  stone  houses  of  good  architecture,  whereas 
the  poorer  abodes  are  mostly  constructed  of 
wood. 

As  in  all  the  other  cities  of  Russia  there  are 
in  Kiev  a  great  many  churches,  over  seventy 
in  all,  the  oldest  of  which  is  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  Sophia  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  built  as 
early  as  1037  on  the  spot  where  the  Petchenegs 
were  defeated  the  previous  year  by  Yarosloff. 
It  is  renowned  for  its  superb  altar,  its  valuable 
mosaics  and  the  tombs  of  Russian  grand-dukes. 
Next  in  importance  is  the  Church  of  the 
Assumption,  containing  the  bodies  of  seven 
saints  conveyed  here  from  Constantinople.  At 
night  the  cross  borne  by  the  statue  of  Vladimir, 
erected  on  a  high  point  overlooking  the  Dnieper, 
is  lighted  up  by  electricity.  This  luminous 
cross  can  be  seen  for  miles  and  miles  all  over 
the  country,  and  the  effect  is  most  impressive 
and  weird. 

From  Kiev  I  had  to  strike  across  country, 
and  the  trains  were  naturally  not  quite  so 
luxurious  as  the  express  trains  on  the  main 
line,  but  still  the  carriages  were  of  the  same 
type,  extremely  comfortable  and  spacious,  and 
all   the  trains   corridor  trains. 

The  next   important  city  where   1    lialted  for 

VOL.  I  c 


1 8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

a  few  hours  was  Kharkoff  in  the  Ukraine,  an 
agricultural  centre  where  beet-root  was  raised  in 
huge  quantities  and  sugar  manufactured  from 
it  ;  wheat  was  plentiful,  and  good  cattle,  sheep 
and  horses  were  bred.  The  population  was 
mostly  of  Cossacks  of  the  Don  and  Little 
Russians.  The  industries  of  the  place  were 
closely  akin  to  farming.  Agricultural  imple- 
ments were  manufactured  ;  there  were  wool- 
cleaning  yards,  soap  and  candle  factories,  wheat- 
mills,  brandy  distilleries,  leather  tanneries,  cloth 
manufactories,  and  brick  kilns. 

The  horse  fairs  at  Kharkoff  are  patronised  by 
buyers  from  all  parts  of  Russia,  but  to  outsiders 
the  city  is  probably  better  known  as  the  early 
cradle  of  Nihilistic  notions.  Although  quite  a 
handsome  city,  with  fine  streets  and  remarkably 
good  shops,  Kharkoff  has  nothing  special  to 
attract  the  casual  visitor,  and  in  ordinary  times  a 
few  hours  are  more  than  sufficient  to  get  a  fair 
idea  of  the  place. 

With  a  railway  ticket  punched  so  often  that 
there  is  very  little  left  of  it,  we  proceed  to 
Rostoff,  where  we  shall  strike  the  main  line 
from  Moscow  to  the  Caucasus.  Here  is  a 
comparatively  new  city — not  unlike  the 
shambling  lesser  Western  cities  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  with  plenty  of  tumbling- 
down,  made-anyhow  fences,  and  empty  tin  cans 
lying  everywhere.  The  streets  are  unpaved,  and 
the  consequent  dust  blinding,  the  drinking 
saloons  in  undue  proportion  to  the  number  of 
houses,    and    votka-drunken     people    in     undue 


II  ROSTOFF  19 

proportion  to  the  population.  Votka-drunken- 
ness  differs  from  the  intoxication  of  other  liquors 
in  one  particular.  Instead  of  "  dead  drunk  "  it 
leaves  the  individuals  drunk-dead.  You  see  a 
disgusting  number  of  these  corpse-like  folks  lying 
about  the  streets,  cadaverous-looking  and  motion- 
less, spread  flat  on  their  faces  or  backs,  uncared- 
for  by  everybody.  Some  sleep  it  off,  and,  if  not 
run  over  by  a  droshki,  eventually  go  home  ; 
some  sleep  it  on,  and  are  eventually  conveyed  to 
the  graveyard,  and  nobody  seems  any  the  wiser 
except,  of  course,  the  people  who  do  not  drink 
bad  votka  to  excess. 

Rostoff  stands  at  the  head  of  the  Delta  of  the 
Don,  a  position  of  great  strategical  importance, 
where  of  course  the  Russians  have  not  failed  to 
build  strong  fortifications.  These  were  begun 
as  early  as  1761.  Now  very  active  ship- 
building yards  are  found  here,  and  extensive 
caviare  factories.  Leather,  wool,  corn,  soap, 
ropes  and  tobacco  are  also  exported,  and  the 
place,  apart  from  its  military  importance,  is 
steadily  growing  commercially.  The  majority 
of  shops  seem  to  deal  chiefly  in  American 
and  German  made  agricultural  implements, 
machinery  and  tools,  and  in  firearms  and  knives 
of  all  sizes  and  shapes.  The  place  is  not 
particularly  clean  and  certainly  hot,  dusty  and 
most  unattractive.  One  is  glad  to  get  into  the 
train  again  and  steam  away  from  it. 

As  we  get  further  South  towards  the  Caucasus 
the  country  grows  more  barren  and  hot,  the  dust 
is  appalling,  but  the  types  of  inhabitants  at   the 

c   2 


20  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      chap,  ii 

little  stations  become  very  picturesque.  The 
Georgians  are  very  fine  people  and  the 
Armenians  too,  in  appearance  at  least.  The 
station  sheds  along  the  dusty  steppes  are  guarded 
by  soldiers,  presumably  to  prevent  attacks  on 
the  trains,  and  as  one  gets  near  the  Caspian  one 
begins  to  see  the  w^ooden  pyramids  over  oil  wells, 
and  long  freight  trains  of  petroleum  carried  in 
iron  cylindrical  tanks.  The  wells  get  more 
numerous  as  we  go  along  ;  the  stations  more 
crowded  with  petroleum  tanks.  We  are  nearing 
the  great  naphtha  wells  of  Baku,  where  at 
last  we  arrive,  having  travelled  from  Tuesday  to 
Sunday  afternoon,  or  five  days,  except  a  few 
hours'  halt  in  Kiev,  Kharkofi^  and  Rostofi^. 

The  first-class  railway  fare  from  Warsaw  for 
the  whole  journey  was  fully  covered  by  a  five- 
pound  note,  and,  mind  you,  could  have  been 
done  cheaper  if  one  chose  to  travel  by  slower 
trains  on  a  less  direct  route  ! 


CHAPTER  III 

Baku — Unnecessary  anxiety — A  storm — Oil  wells — Naphtha 
spouts — How  the  wells  are  worked — -The  native  city — The 
Baku  Bay — Fortifications — The  Maiden's  Tower — Depres- 
sing vegetation — Baku  dust — Prosperity  and  hospitality — 
The  Amir  of  Bokhara — The  mail  service  to  Persia  on  the 
Caspian — The  Mercury  and  Caucasus  line — Lenkoran — 
Astara  (Russo-Persian  boundary) — Antiquated  steamers. 

So  many  accounts  are  heard  of  how  one's 
registered  baggage  in  Russia  generally  arrives 
with  locks  smashed  and  minus  one's  most  valuable 
property,  and  how  unpunctual  in  arriving  luggage 
is,  and  how  few  passengers  escape  without  having 
their  pockets  picked  before  reaching  their 
destination — by  the  way,  a  fellow-passenger  had 
his  pockets  picked  at  the  station  of  Mineralnya 
Vod — that  I  was  somewhat  anxious  to  see  my 
belongings  again,  and  fully  expected  to  find  that 
something  had  gone  wrong  with  them.  Much 
to  my  surprise,  on  producing  the  receipt  at 
the  very  handsome  railway  terminus,  all  my 
portmanteaux  and  cases  were  instantly  delivered 
in  excellent  condition. 

The    Caspian    Sea    steamers    for    Persia    leave 
Baku    on    Sunday     and    Tuesday     at     midnight. 


22  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

There  was  a  fierce  sand  storm  raging  at  the  time 
and  the  steamer  had  returned  without  beins:  able 
to  land  her  passengers  at  their  destination.  I 
decided  to  wait  till  the  Tuesday.  There  is  plenty 
to  interest  one  in  Baku.  I  will  not  describe  the 
eternal  fires,  described  so  often  by  other  visitors, 
nor  tell  how  naphtha  was  tapped  for  the  first  time 
at  this  place,  and  how  in  1886  one  particular 
well  spouted  oil  with  such  tremendous  force  that 
it  was  impossible  to  check  it  and  it  deluged  a 
good  portion  of  the  neighbourhood.  A  year 
later,  in  1887,  another  fountain  rose  to  a  height 
of  350  ft.  There  are  myriads  of  other  lesser 
fountains  and  wells,  each  covered  by  a  wooden 
shed  like  a  slender  pyramid,  and  it  is  a  common 
occurrence  to  see  a  big  spout  of  naphtha  rising 
outside  and  high  above  the  top  of  the  wooden 
shed,  now  from  one  well,  now  from  another. 

The  process  of  bringing  naphtha  to  the  surface 
under  ordinary  circumstances  is  simple  and 
effective,  a  metal  cylinder  is  employed  that  has  a 
valve  at  the  lower  end  allowing  the  tube  to  till 
while  it  descends,  and  closing  automatically  when 
the  tube  is  full  and  is  being  raised  above  ground 
and  emptied  into  pits  provided  for  the  purpose. 
The  naphtha  then  undergoes  the  process  of  refine- 
ment. There  are  at  the  present  moment 
hundreds  of  refineries  in  Baku.  The  residue  and 
waste  of  naphtha  are  used  as  fuel,  being  very  much 
cheaper  than  coal  or  wood. 

The  greater  number  of  wells  are  found  a  few 
miles  out  of  the  town  on  the  Balakhani  Penin- 
sula, and  the  naphtha  is   carried  into   the  Baku 


Ill  THE  MAIDEN'S  TOWER  23 

refineries  by  numerous  pipe  lines.  The  whole 
country  round  is,  however,  impregnated  with  oil, 
and  even  the  sea  in  one  or  two  bays  near  Baku 
is  coated  with  inflammable  stuff  and  can  be 
ignited  by  throwing  a  lighted  match  upon  it. 
At  night  this  has  a  weird  effect. 

Apart  from  the  oil,  Baku — especially  the 
European  settlement — has  nothing  to  fascinate 
the  traveller.  In  the  native  city,  Persian  in  type, 
with  flat  roofs  one  above  the  other  and  the  hill 
top  crowned  by  a  castle  and  the  Mosque  of  Shah 
Abbas,  constant  murders  occur.  The  native 
population  consists  mostly  of  Armenians  and 
Persians.  Cotton,  saffron,  opium,  silk  and  salt 
are  exported  in  comparatively  small  quantities. 
Machinery,  grain  and  dried  fruit  constitute  the 
chief  imports. 

The  crescent-shaped  Baku  Bay,  protected  as  it 
is  by  a  small  island  in  front  of  it,  affords  a  safe 
anchorage  for  shipping.  It  has  good  ship-yards 
and  is  the  principal  station  of  the  Russian  fleet  in 
the  Caspian.  Since  Baku  became  part  of  the 
Russian  Empire  in  1806  the  harbour  has  been 
very  strongly  fortified. 

The  most  striking  architectural  sight  in  Baku 
is  the  round  Maiden's  Tower  by  the  water  edge, 
from  the  top  of  which  the  lovely  daughter  of 
the  Khan  of  Baku  precipitated  herself  on  to  the 
rocks  below  because  she  could  not  marry  the  man 
she  loved. 

The  most  depressing  sight  in  B.aku  is  the 
vegetation,  or  rather  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the 
lover  of  plants  to  procure  verdure  at  all  costs  in 


24  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

the  gardens.  It  is  seldom  one's  lot  to  see  trees 
and  plants  look  more  pitiable,  notwithstanding 
the  unbounded  care  that  is  taken  of  them.  The 
terrific  heat  of  Baku,  the  hot  winds  and  sand- 
storms are  deadly  enemies  to  vegetation.  No- 
thing will  grow.  One  does  not  see  a  blade  of 
grass  nor  a  shrub  anywhere  except  those  few 
that  are  artificially  brought  up.  The  sand  is 
most  trying.  It  is  so  fine  that  the  wind  forces 
it  through  anything,  and  one's  tables,  one's 
chairs,  one's  bed  are  yellow-coated  with  it.  The 
tablecloth  at  the  hotel,  specklessly  white  when 
you  begin  to  dine,  gets  gradually  yellower  at 
sight,  and  by  the  time  you  are  half  through 
your  dinner  the  waiter  has  to  come  with  a 
brush  to  remove  the  thick  coating  of  dust  on 
the  table. 

These  are  the  drawbacks,  but  there  is  an  air 
of  prosperity  about  the  place  and  people  that 
is  distinctly  pleasing,  even  although  one  may 
not  share  in  it.  There  is  quite  a  fair  foreign 
community  of  business  people,  and  their  activity 
is  very  praiseworthy.  The  people  are  very 
hospitable — too  hospitable.  When  they  do  not 
talk  of  naphtha,  they  drink  sweet  champagne  in 
unlimited  quantities.  But  what  else  could  they 
do  ^  Everything  is  naphtha  here,  everything 
smells  of  naphtha,  the  steamers,  the  railway 
engines  are  run  with  naphtha.  The  streets  are 
greasy  with  naphtha.  Occasionally — frequently 
of  late — the  monotony  of  the  place  is  broken 
by  fires  of  gigantic  proportions  on  the  premises 
of   over-insured    well-owners.     The    destruction 


Ill  THE  AMIR  OF  BOKHARA  25 

to  property  on  such  occasions  is  immense,  the 
fires  spreading  with  incalculable  rapidity  over  an 
enormous  area,  and  the  difficulty  of  extinguishing 
them  being  considerable. 

When  I  was  in  Baku  the  Amir  of  Bokhara 
was  being  entertained  in  the  city  as  guest  of 
the  Government.  His  suite  was  quartered  in 
the  Grand  Hotel.  He  had  taken  his  usual 
tour  through  Russia  and  no  trouble  had  been 
spared  to  impress  the  Amir  with  the  greatness 
of  the  Russian  Empire.  He  had  been  given  a 
very  good  time,  and  I  was  much  impressed 
with  the  pomp  and  cordiality  with  which  he 
was  treated.  Neither  the  Governor  nor  any 
of  the  other  officials  showed  him  the  usual 
stand-off  manner  which  in  India,  for  instance, 
would  have  been  used  towards  an  Asiatic 
potentate,  whether  conquered  by  us  or  other- 
wise. They  dealt  with  him  as  if  he  had  been  a 
European  prince — at  which  the  Amir  seemed 
much  flattered.  He  had  a  striking,  good- 
natured  face  with  black  beard  and  moustache, 
and  dark  tired  eyes  that  clearly  testified  to 
Russian  hospitality. 

I  went  to  see  him  off  on  the  steamer  which 
he  kept  waiting  several  hours  after  the  advertised 
time  of  departure.  He  dolefully  strode  on  board 
over  a  grand  display  of  oriental  rugs,  while  the 
military  brass  band  provided  for  the  occasion 
played  Russian  selections.  Everybody  official 
wore  decorations,  even  the  captain  of  the  mer- 
chant ship,  who  proudly  bore  upon  his  chest  a 
brilliant    star — a     Bokhara    distinction    received 


26  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

from  the  Amir  on  his  outward  journey  for  navi- 
gating him  safely  across  the  Caspian. 

The  Amir's  suite  was  very  picturesque,  some 
of  the  men  wearing  long  crimson  velvet  gowns 
embroidered  in  gold,  others  silk-checked  gar- 
ments. All  had  white  turbans.  The  snapshot 
reproduced  in  the  illustration  shows  the  Amir 
accompanied  by  the  Governor  of  Baku  just 
stepping  on  board. 

There  is  a  regular  mail  service  twice  a  week 
in  summer,  from  April  to  the  end  of  October, 
and  once  a  week  in  winter,  on  the  Caspian 
between  Baku  and  Enzeli  in  Persia,  the  Russian 
Government  paying  a  subsidy  to  the  Kavkas  and 
Mercury  Steam  Navigation  Company  for  the 
purpose  of  conveying  passengers,  mails  (and,  in 
the  event  of  war,  troops)  into  Persia  and  back. 
There  are  also  a  number  of  coasting  steamers 
constantly  plying  between  the  various  ports  on 
the  Caspian  both  on  the  Russian  and  Persian 
coast. 

The  hurricane  having  abated  there  was  a  pros- 
pect of  a  fair  voyage  and  the  probability  of 
landing  at  Enzeli  in  Persia,  so  when  the  Tuesday 
came  I  went  on  board  the  old  rickety  paddle- 
steamer  (no  less  than  forty-five  years  old)  which 
was  to  convey  me  to  that  port.  She  was  one  of 
the  Mercury-Caucasus  Co.  fleet,  and  very  dirty 
she  was,  too. 

It  is  perhaps  right  to  mention  that  for  the 
first  time  in  Russia,  purposeless  rudeness  and 
insolence  came  to  my  notice  on  the  part  of  the 
ticket  officials  of  the  Mercury  line.     They  be- 


z 

C 


Ill       THE  PERSO-RUSSIAN  BOUNDARY        27 

haved  like  stupid  children,  and  were  absolutely 
incompetent  to  do  the  work  which  had  been 
entrusted  to  them.  They  were  somewhat  sur- 
prised when  I  took  them  to  task  and  made 
them  "  sit  up."  Having  found  that  they  had 
played  the  fool  with  the  wrong  man  they  in- 
stantly became  very  meek  and  obliging.  It  is 
nevertheless  a  great  pity  that  the  Mercury  Com- 
pany should  employ  men  of  this  kind  who,  for 
some  aim  of  their  own,  annoy  passengers,  both 
foreign  and  Russian,  and  are  a  disgrace  to  the 
Company  and  their  country. 

On  board  ship  the  captain,  officers  and 
stewards  were  extremely  civil.  Nearly  all  the 
captains  of  the  Caspian  steamers  were  Norwegian 
or  from  Finland,  and  were  jolly  fellows.  The 
cabins  were  very  much  inhabited,  so  much  so 
that  it  was  difficult  to  sleep  in  them  at  all. 
Insects  so  voracious  and  in  such  quantities  and 
variety  were  in  full  possession  of  the  berths,  that 
they  gave  one  as  lively  a  night  as  it  is  possible 
for  mortals  to  have.  Fortunately  the  journey 
was  not  a  long  one,  and  having  duly  departed 
at  midnight  from  Baku  I  reached  Lenkoran  the 
next  day,  with  its  picturesque  background  ot 
mountains  and  thickly-wooded  country.  This 
spot  is  renowned  for  tiger-shooting. 

Our  next  halt  was  at  Astara,  where  there  were 
a  number  of  wooden  sheds  and  drinking  saloons, 
— a  dreadful  place,  important  only  because  on 
the  Perso-Russian  boundary  line  formed  by  the 
river  of  the  same  name.  We  landed  here  a 
number  of  police  officers,  who  were  met  by  a 


28  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      chap,  hi 

deputation  of  some  fifty  Persian-looking  men, 
who  threwtheir  arms  round  their  necks  and  in  turn 
lustily  kissed  them  on  both  cheeks.  It  was  a 
funny  sight.  When  we  got  on  board  again  after 
a  couple  of  hours  on  shore  the  wind  rose  and  we 
tossed  about  considerably.  Another  sleepless 
night  on  the  "living"  mattress  in  the  bunk,  and 
early  in  the  morning  we  reached  the  Persian 
port  of  Enzeli. 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Port  of  Enzeli — Troublesome  landing — Flat- bottomed 
boats — A  special  permit — Civility  of  officials — Across  the 
Murd-ap  lagoon — Piri-Bazaar — A  self-imposed  golden  rule 
— Where  our  stock  came  from — The  drive  to  Resht — The 
bazaar — The  native  shops  and  foreign  goods — Ghilan's 
trade — The  increase  in  trade — British  and  Russian  com- 
petitions— Sugar — Tobacco — Hotels — The  British  Consu- 
late— The  Governor's  palace — H.E.  Salare  Afkham — A 
Swiss  hotel — Banks. 

One  calls  Enzeli  a  "  port  "  pour  facon  de 
parler^  for  Persia  has  no  harbours  at  all  on  the 
Caspian  sea.  Enzeli,  Meshed-i-Sher  or  Astrabad, 
the  three  principal  landing  places  on  the  Persian 
coast,  have  no  shelter  for  ships,  which  have  to 
lie  a  good  distance  out  at  sea  w^hile  passengers 
and  cargo  are  transhipped  by  the  Company's 
steam  launch  or — in  rough  weather — by  rowing 
boats.  In  very  rough  weather  it  is  impossible 
to  effect  a  landing  at  all,  and — this  is  a  most 
frequent  occurrence  on  the  treacherous  Caspian 
— after  reaching  one's  journey's  end  one  has  to 
go  all  the  way  back  to  the  starting  point  and 
begin  afresh.  There  are  people  who  have  been 
compelled  to  take  the  journey  four  or  five  times 
before  they  could   land,  until  the  violent  storms 


30  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

which  often  rage  along  the  Persian  coast  had 
completely  subsided  and  allowed  the  flimsy  steam- 
launch  at  Enzeli  to  come  out  to  meet  the 
steamers,  lying  about  a  mile  outside. 

We  had  passengers  on  board  who  had  been 
unable  to  land  on  the  previous  journey,  and  were 
now  on  their  second  attempt  to  set  foot  in 
Persia.  We  were  rolling  a  good  deal  when  we 
cast  anchor,  and  after  waiting  some  hours  we 
were  informed  that  it  was  too  rough  for  the 
steam-launch  to  come  out.  The  captain  feared 
that  he  must  put  to  sea  again,  as  the  wind  was 
rising  and  he  was  afraid  to  remain  so  near  the 
coast.  Two  rowing  boats  eventually  came  out, 
and  with  some  considerable  exertion  of  the 
rowers  succeeded  in  getting  near  the  steamer.  I 
immediately  chartered  one,  and  after  a  good  deal 
of  see-saw  and  banging  and  knocking  and 
crackling  of  wood  alongside  the  steamer,  my 
baggage  and  I  were  transhipped  into  the  flat- 
bottomed  boat.  Off  we  rowed  towards  the 
shore,  getting  drenched  each  time  that  the  boat 
dipped  her  nose  into  the  sea. 

The  narrow  entrance  of  the  Enzeli  bay  is 
blocked  by  a  sand-bar.  The  water  is  here  very 
shallow,  only  about  six  feet  deep.  Riding  on 
the  top  of  the  breakers  was  quite  an  experience, 
and  we  occasionally  shipped  a  good  deal  of  water. 
We,  however,  landed  safely  and  had  to  pay  pretty 
dearly  for  the  convenience.  The  boatmen  do  not 
run  the  risk  of  going  out  for  nothing,  and  when 
they  do,  take  every  advantage  of  passengers  who 
employ  them.     I    was  fortunate   to   get   off   by 


IV  ACROSS  THE  MURD-AP  31 

giving  a  backshish  of  a  few  tomans  (dollars), 
but  there  are  people  who  have  been  known  to 
pay  three,  four  and  even  five  pounds  sterling  to 
be  conveyed  on  shore. 

Here,  too,  thanks  to  the  civility  of  the  Persian 
Ambassador  in  London,  I  had  a  special  permit 
for  my  firearms,  instruments,  etc.,  and  met  with 
the  greatest  courtesy  from  the  Belgian  and 
Persian  officers  in  the  Customs.  It  is  necessary 
to  have  one's  passport  in  order,  duly  vise  by  the 
Persian  Consul  in  London,  or  else  a  delay  might 
occur  at  P^nzeli. 

There  is  a  lighthouse  at  Enzeli,  the  Customs 
buildings  and  a  small  hotel.  From  this  point  a 
lagoon,  the  Murd-ap  has  to  be  crossed,  either 
by  the  small  steam-launch  or  by  rowing  boat. 
As  there  seemed  to  be  some  uncertainty  about 
the  departure  of  the  launch,  and  as  I  had  a  good 
deal  of  luggage,  I  preferred  the  latter  way. 
Eight  powerful  men  rowed  with  all  their  might 
at  the  prospect  of  a  good  backshish  ;  and  we 
sped  along  at  a  good  pace  on  the  placid  waters  of 
the  lagoon,  in  big  stretches  of  open  water,  now 
skirting  small  islands,  occasionally  through  narrow 
canals,  the  banks  of  which  were  covered  with 
high  reeds  and  heavy,  tropical,  contused,  un- 
tidy vegetation.  The  air  was  still  and  stifling 
— absolutely  unmoved,  screened  as  it  was  on  all 
sides  by  vegetation.  The  sailors  sang  a  mono- 
tonous cadence,  and  the  boat  glided  along  for 
some  three  hours  until  we  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Piri  river,  hardly  wide  enough  for  a 
couple   of  boats  to  go  through   simultaneously, 


32  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and    so    shallow    that     rowing    was     no     longer 
practicable. 

The  men  jumped  off,  tied  the  towing  rope 
that  hung  from  the  mast  to  their  belts,  and 
ran  along  the  banks  of  the  Piri  river,  the  water 
of  which  was  almost  stagnant.  An  hour  or  so 
later  we  suddenly  came  upon  a  number  of 
boats  jammed  together  in  the  miniature  harbour 
of  Piri  Bazaar — a  pool  of  putrid  water  a  few 
feet  in  circumference.  As  the  boat  gradually 
approached,  a  stone-paved  path  still  separated 
from  you  by  a  thick  wide  layer  of  filthy  mud 
wound  its  way  to  the  few  miserable  sheds — 
the  bazaar — up  above.  A  few  trays  of  grapes, 
some  Persian  bread,  some  earthenware  pottery 
of  the  cheapest  kind,  are  displayed  in  the  shop 
fronts — and  that  is  all  of  the  Piri-Bazaar.  On 
landing  at  Enzeli  one  hears  so  much  of 
Piri-Bazaar  that  one  gets  to  imagine  it  a 
big,  important  place, — and  as  it  is,  moreover, 
practically  the  first  really  typical  Persian  place 
at  which  one  touches,  the  expectations  are  high. 
Upon  arrival  there  one's  heart  sinks  into  one's 
boots,  and  one's  boots  sink  deep  into  black 
stinking  mud  as  one  takes  a  very  long — yet 
much  too  short — jump  from  the  boat  on  to 
what  one  presumes  to  be  terra  jirma. 

With  boots  clogged  and  heavy  with  filth, 
a  hundred  people  like  ravenous  birds  of  prey 
yelling  in  your  ears  (and  picking  your  pockets 
if  they  have  a  chance),  with  your  luggage 
being  mercilessly  dragged  in  the  mud,  with 
everybody    demanding    backshish    on    all     sides, 


IV  A  GOLDEN  RULE  23 

tapping  you  on  the  shoulder  or  pulling  your 
coat, — thus  one  lands  in  real  Persia. 

In  the  country  of  Iran  one  does  not  travel  for 
pleasure  nor  is  there  any  pleasure  in  travelling. 
For  study  and  interest,  yes.  There  is  plenty 
of  both   everywhere. 

Personally,  I  invariably  make  up  my  mind 
when  I  start  for  the  East  that  no  matter  what 
happens  I  will  on  no  account  get  out  of  temper, 
and  this  self-imposed  rule — I  must  admit — 
was  never,  in  all  my  travels,  tried  to  the 
tantalising  extent  that  it  was  in  the  country 
of  the  Shah.  The  Persian  lower  classes — 
particularly  in  places  where  they  have  come 
in  contact  with  Europeans — are  well-nigh 
intolerable.  There  is  nothing  that  they  will 
not  do  to  annoy  you  in  every  possible  way, 
to  extort  backshish  from  you.  In  only  one 
way  do  Persians  in  this  respect  differ  from 
other  Orientals.  The  others  usually  try  to 
obtain  money  by  pleasing  you  and  being  useful 
and  polite,  whereas  the  Persian  adopts  the 
quicker,  if  not  safer,  method  of  bothering  you 
and  giving  you  trouble  to  such  an  unlimited 
degree  that  you  are  compelled  to  give  some- 
thing in  order  to  get  rid  of  him.  And  in  a 
country  where  no  redress  can  be  obtained  from 
the  police,  where  laws  do  not  count,  and  where 
the  lower  classes  are  as  corrupt  and  unscrupulous 
as  they  are  in  the  more  civilised  parts  of  Persia 
(these  remarks  do  not  apply  to  the  parts 
where  few  or  no  Europeans  have  been)  the 
only  way  to  save  one's  self  from  constant  worry 

VOL.    I  D 


34  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and  repressed  anger — so  bad  for  one's  health — 
is  to  make  up  one's  mind  at  once  to  what 
extent  one  is  prepared  to  be  imposed  upon, 
and  leave  the  country  after.  That  is  to  say, 
if  one  does  not  wish  to  adopt  the  only  other 
and  more  attractive  alternative  of  inflicting 
summary  justice  on  two-thirds  of  the  natives 
one  meets, — too  great  an  exertion,  to  be  sure, 
in  so  hot  a  climate. 

They  say  that  Persia  is  the  country  that 
our  stock  came  from.  It  is  quite  possible,  and 
if  so  we  are  indeed  to  be  congratulated  upon 
having  morally  improved  so  much  since,  or 
the  Persians  to  be  condoled  with  on  their  sad 
degeneration.  The  better  classes,  however,  are 
very  different,  as  we  shall  see  later. 

Personally,  I  adopted  the  first  method  sug- 
gested above,  the  easier  of  the  two,  and  I 
deliberately  put  by  what  I  thought  v.'as  a  fair 
sum  to  be  devoted  exclusively  to  extortion. 
On  leaving  the  country  several  months  later, 
much  to  my  astonishment  I  found  that  I  had 
not  been  imposed  upon  half  as  much  as  I 
expected,  although  I  had  stayed  in  Persia  double 
the  time  I  had  intended.  Maybe  this  can  be 
accounted  for  by  my  having  spent  most  of  my 
time  in  parts  not  so  much  frequented  by  Euro- 
peans. Indeed,  if  the  Persian  is  to-day  the  per- 
fidious individual  he  is,  we  have  to  a  great  extent 
only  ourselves  to  blame  for  making  him  so. 

Keeping  my  temper  under  control,  and  an 
eye  on  my  belongings,  I  next  hired  a  carriage 
to    convey    me   to    the    town    of    Resht,    seven 


IV  RESHT  35 

miles  distant.  In  damp  heat,  that  made  one's 
clothes  moist  and  unpleasant,  upon  a  road 
muddy  to  such  an  extent  that  the  wheels  sank 
several  inches  in  it  and  splashed  the  passenger 
all  over,  we  galloped  through  thick  vegetation 
and  patches  of  agriculture,  and  entered  the 
city  of  Resht.  Through  the  narrow  winding 
streets  of  the  bazaar  we  slowed  down  somewhat 
in  some  places,  the  carriage  almost  touching 
the  walls  of  the  street  on  both  sides.  The 
better  houses  possess  verandahs  with  banisters 
painted  blue,  while  the  walls  of  the  buildings 
are  generally  white. 

One  is  struck  by  the  great  number  of  shoe 
shops  in  the  bazaar,  displaying  true  Persian  shoes 
with  pointed  turned-up  toes, — then  by  the  brass 
and  copper  vessel  shops,  the  ancient  and 
extremely  graceful  shapes  of  the  vessels  and 
amphoras  being  to  this  date  faithfully  preserved 
and  reproduced.  More  pleasing  still  to  the  eye 
are  the  fruit  shops,  with  huge  trays  of  water- 
melons, cucumbers,  figs,  and  heaps  of  grapes. 
The  latter  are,  nevertheless,  not  so  very  tasty  to 
the  palate  and  do  not  compare  with  the  delicate 
flavour  of  the  Italian  or  Spanish  grapes. 

Somewhat  incongruous  and  out-of-place,  yet 
more  numerous  than  truly  Persian  shops,  are  the 
semi-European  stores,  with  cheap  glass  windows 
displaying  inside  highly  dangerous-looking 
kerosene  lamps,  badly  put  together  tin  goods, 
soiled  enamel  tumblers  and  plates,  silvered  glass 
balls  for  ceiling  decoration,  and  the  vilest 
oleographs    that    the    human    mind    can    devise, 

J)     2 


36  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

only  matched  by  the  vileness  of  the  frames. 
Small  looking-glasses  play  an  important  part  in 
these  displays,  and  occasionally  a  hand  sew- 
ing-machine. Tinned  provisions,  wine  and 
liquor  shops  are  numerous,  but  unfortunate  is 
the  man  who  may  have  to  depend  upon  them 
for  his  food.  The  goods  are  the  remnants  of 
the  oldest  stocks  that  have  gradually  drifted, 
unsold,  down  to  Baku,  and  have  eventually  been 
shipped  over  for  the  Persian  market  where 
people  do  not  know  any  better.  Resht  is  the 
chief  city  in  the  Ghilan  province, 

Ghilan's  trade  in  piece-goods  is  about  two- 
thirds  in  the  hands  of  Russia,  while  one-third 
(or  even  less)  is  still  retained  by  England, — 
Manchester  goods.  This  cannot  well  be  helped, 
for  there  is  no  direct  route  from  Great  Britain 
to  Resht,  and  all  British  goods  must  come 
through  Bagdad,  Tabriz,  or  Baku.  The  two 
first  routes  carry  most  of  the  trade,  which 
consists  principally  of  shirtings,  prints,  cambrics, 
mulls,  nainsooks,  and  Turkey-reds,  which  are 
usually  put  down  as  of  Turkish  origin,  whereas 
in  reality  they  come  from  Manchester,  and  are 
merely  re-exported,  mainly  from  Constantinople, 
by  native  firms  either  in  direct  traffic  or  in 
exchange  for  goods  received. 

One  has  heard  a  great  deal  of  the  enormous 
increase  in  trade  in  Persia  during  the  last  couple 
of  years  or  so.  The  increase  has  not  been  in  the 
trade  itself,  but  in  the  collection  of  Customs  dues, 
which  is  now  done  in  a  regular  and  business  like 
fashion  by  competent  Belgian  officials,  instead  of 


IV  RUSSIAN  COMPETITION  37 

by  natives,  to  whom  the  various  collecting  stations 
were  formerly  farmed  out. 

It  will  not  be  very  easy  for  the  British  trader 
to  compete  successfully  with  the  Russian  in 
northern  Persia,  for  that  country,  being 
geographically  in  such  close  proximity,  can 
transport  her  cheaply  made  goods  at  a  very  low 
cost  into  Iran.  Also  the  Russian  Government 
allows  enormous  advantages  to  her  own  traders 
with  Persia  in  order  to  secure  the  Persian 
market,  and  to  develop  her  fast-increasing 
industrial  progress, — advantages  which  British 
traders  do  not  enjoy.  Still,  considering  all  the 
difficulties  British  trade  has  to  contend  with  in 
order  to  penetrate,  particularly  into  Ghilan,  it  is 
extraordinary  how  some  articles,  like  white 
Manchester  shirtings,  enjoy  practically  a 
monopoly,  being  of  a  better  quality  than  similar 
goods  sent  by  Russia,  Austria,  Hungary, 
Germany,  Italy  or  Holland. 

Loaf  sugar,  which  came  at  one  time  almost 
entirely  from  France,  has  been  cut  out  by 
Russian  sugar,  which  is  imported  in  large 
quantities  and  eventually  finds  its  way  all  over 
Persia.  It  is  of  inferior  quality,  but  very  much 
cheaper  than  sugar  of  French  manufacture,  and 
is  the  chief  Russian  import  into  Ghilan. 

Tobacco  comes  principally  from  Turkey  and 
Russia.  In  going  on  with  our  drive  through  the 
bazaar  we  see  it  sold  in  the  tiny  tobacco  shops, 
where  it  is  tastily  arranged  in  heaps  on  square 
pieces  of  blue  paper,  by  the  side  of  Russian  and 
Turkish   cigarettes. 


38  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

And  now  for  the  Resht  Hotels.  Here  is  an 
Armenian  hotel — European  style.  From  the 
balcony  signs  and  gesticulations  and  shouts  in 
English,  French,  and  Russian  endeavour  to 
attract  the  passer-by — a  youth  even  rushes  to  the 
horses  and  stops  them  in  order  to  induce  the 
traveller  to  alight  and  put  up  at  the  hostelry  ;  but 
after  a  long  discussion,  on  we  go,  and  slowly 
wind  our  way  through  the  intricate  streets 
crowded  with  men  and  women  and  children — 
all  grumbling  and  making  some  remark  as  one 
goes  by.  At  one  point  a  circle  of  people 
squatting  in  the  middle  of  a  road  round  a  pile  of 
water-melons,  at  huge  slices  of  which  they  each 
bit  lustily,  kept  us  waiting  some  time,  till  they 
moved  themselves  and  their  melons  out  of  the 
way  for  the  carriage  to  pass.  Further  on  a 
soldier  or  two  in  rags  lay  sleeping  flat  on  the 
shady  side  of  the  road,  with  his  pipe  (kahan) 
and  his  sword  lying  by  his  side.  Boys  were 
riding  wildly  on  donkeys  and  frightened  women 
scrambled  away  or  flattened  themselves  against 
the  side  walls  of  the  street,  while  the  hubs  of  the 
wheels  shaved  and  greased  their  ample  black  silk 
or  cotton  trousers  made  in  the  shape  of  sacks,  and 
the  horses'  hoofs  splashed  them  all  over  with 
mud.  The  women's  faces  were  covered  with  a 
white  cloth  reaching  down  to  the  waist.  Here, 
too,  as  in  China,  the  double  basket  arrangement 
on  a  long  pole  swung  across  the  shoulders  was 
much  used  for  conveying  loads  of  fruit  and 
vegetables  on  men's  shoulders  ; — but  least 
picturesque  of  all    were    the    well-to-do  people 


IV  THE  GOVERNOR'S  PALACE  39 

of  the  strong  sex,  in  short  frock-coats  pleated 
all  over  in  the  skirt. 

One  gets  a  glimpse  of  a  picturesque  blue-tiled 
pagoda-like  roof  w^ith  a  cylindrical  column  upon 
it,  and  at  last  we  emerge  into  a  large  quadrangular 
square,  with  European  buildings  to  the  west  side. 

A  little  further  the  British  flag  flies  gaily  in 
the  wind  above  H.M.'s  Consulate.  Then  we 
come  upon  a  larger  building,  the  Palace  of  the 
Governor,  who,  to  save  himself  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  having  sentries  at  the  entrances, 
had  life-size  representations  of  soldiers  with 
drawn  swords  painted  on  the  wall.  They  are 
not  all  represented  wearing  the  same  uniform,  as 
one  would  expect  with  a  guard  of  that  kind,  but 
for  variety's  sake  some  have  red  coats,  with  plenty 
of  gold  braiding  on  them,  and  blue  trousers, 
the  others  blue  coats  and  red  trousers. 
One  could  not  honestly  call  the  building  a 
beautiful  one,  but  in  its  unrestored  condition  it  is 
quite  picturesque  and  quaint.  It  possesses  a 
spacious  verandah  painted  bright  blue,  and  two 
windows  at  each  side  with  elaborate  ornamen- 
tations similarly  coloured  red  and  blue.  A  red- 
bordered  white  flag  with  the  national  lion  in  the 
centre  floats  over  the  Palace,  and  an  elaborate 
castellated  archway,  with  a  repetition  of  the 
Persian  Lion  on  either  side,  stands  in  front  of  the 
main  entrance  in  the  square  of  the  Palace.  So 
also  do  four  useful  kerosene  lamp-posts.  The 
telegraph  office  is  to  the  right  of  the  Palace  with 
a  pretty  garden  in  front  of  it. 

The  most  important  political  personage  living 


40  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

in  Resht  is  His  Excellency  Salare  Afkham, 
called  Mirza  Fathollah  Khan,  one  of  the  richest 
men  in  Persia,  who  has  a  yearly  income  of  some 
twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  He  owns  a 
huge  house  and  a  great  deal  of  land  round  Resht, 
and  is  much  respected  for  his  talent  and  kindly 
manner.  He  was  formerly  Minister  of  the 
Customs  and  Posts  of  all  Persia,  and  his  chest  is 
a  blaze  of  Russian,  Turkish  and  Persian 
decorations  of  the  highest  class,  bestowed  upon 
him  by  the  various  Sovereigns  in  recognition  of 
his  good  work.  He  has  for  private  secretary  Abal 
Kassem  Khan,  the  son  of  the  best  known  of 
modern  Persian  poets,  Chams-echoera,  and 
himself  a  very  able  man  who  has  travelled  all 
over  Asia,  Turkestan  and  Europe. 

Persia  is  a  country  of  disappointments.  There 
is  a  general  belief  that  the  Swiss  are  splendid 
hotel-keepers.  Let  me  give  you  my  experience 
of  the  hotel  at  Resht  kept  by  a  Swiss. 

"  Can  this  be  the  Swiss  hotel  ? "  I  queried  to 
myself,  as  the  driver  pulled  up  in  front  of  an 
appallingly  dirty  flight  of  steps.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  one  about,  and  after  going  through  the 
greater  part  of  the  building,  I  eventually  came 
across  a  semi-starved  Persian  servant,  who 
assured  me  that  it  was.  The  proprietor,  when 
found,  received  me  with  an  air  of  condescension 
that  was  entertaining.  He  led  me  to  a  room 
which  he  said  was  the  best  in  the  house.  On 
inspection,  the  others,  I  agreed  with  him,  were 
decidedly  not  better.  The  hotel  had  twelve  bed- 
rooms and  they  were  all  disgustingly  filthy.   True 


IV  THE  BEST  HOTEL  41 

enough,  each  bedroom  had  more  beds  in  it  than 
one  really  needed,  two  or  even  three  in  each 
bedroom,  but  a  coup-d'ceil  was  sufficient  to  assure 
one's  self  that  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  make 
use  of  any  of  them.  I  counted  four  diffisrent 
coloured  hairs,  of  disproportionate  lengths  and 
texture,  on  one  bed-pillow  in  my  room,  leaving 
little  doubt  that  no  less  than  four  people  had 
laid  their  heads  on  that  pillow  before  ;  and  the 
pillow  of  the  other  bed  was  so  black  with  dirt 
that  I  should  imagine  at  least  a  dozen  consecu- 
tive occupants  of  that  couch  would  be  a  low 
estimate  indeed.  As  for  the  sheets,  blankets,  and 
towels,  we  had  better  draw  a  veil.  I  therefore 
preferred  to  spread  my  own  bedding  on  the  floor, 
and  slept  there.  The  hotel  boasted  of  three  large 
dining-rooms  in  which  a  few  moth-eaten  stuffed 
birds  and  a  case  or  two  of  mutilated  butterflies, 
a  couple  of  German  oleographs,  which  set  one's 
teeth  on  edge,  and  dusty,  stamped  cotton  hang- 
ings formed  the  entire  decoration. 

To  give  one  an  appetite — which  one  never 
lost  as  long  as  one  stayed  there — one  was  in- 
formed before  dinner  that  the  proprietor  was 
formerly  the  Shah's  cook.  After  dinner  one  felt 
very,  very  sorry  for  the  poor  Shah,  and  more  so 
for  one's  self,  for  having  put  up  at  the  hotel.  But 
there  was  no  other  place  in  Resht,  and  I  stuck 
to  my  decision  that  I  would  never  get  angry,  so 
I  stood  all  patiently.  The  next  day  I  would 
start  for  Teheran. 

One  talks  of  Persian  extortion,  but  it  is  nothing 
to  the  example  offered   to  the  natives    by  Euro- 


42  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

peans  in  Persia.  The  charges  at  the  hotel  were 
exorbitant.  One  paid  as  much  per  day  as  one 
would  at  the  very  first  hotel  in  London,  New 
York,  or  Paris,  such  as  the  Carlton,  the  Waldorf, 
or  Ritz.  Only  here  one  got  absolutely  nothing 
for  it  except  very  likely  an  infectious  disease,  as 
I  did.  In  walking  bare-footed  on  the  filthy  mat- 
ting, while  taking  my  bath,  some  invisible  germ 
bored  its  way  into  the  sole  of  my  right  foot  and 
caused  me  a  good  deal  of  trouble  for  several 
weeks  after.  Animal  life  in  all  its  varieties  was 
plentiful  in  all  the  rooms. 

Previous  to  starting  on  the  long  drive  to  the 
capital  I  had  to  get  some  meat  cooked  for  use  on 
the  road,  but  it  was  so  putrid  that  even  when  I 
flung  it  to  a  famished  pariah  dog  he  refused  to  eat 
it.  And  all  this,  mind  you,  was  inexcusable,  be- 
cause excellent  meat,  chickens,  eggs,-vegetables, 
and  fruit,  can  be  purchased  in  Resht  for  a  mere 
song,  the  average  price  of  a  good  chicken,  for  in- 
stance, being  about  5  J.  to  10^/.,  a  whole  sheep  cost- 
ing some  eight  or  ten  shillings.  I  think  it  is  only 
right  that  this  man  should  be  exposed,  so  as  to  put 
other  travellers  on  their  guard,  not  so  much  tor 
his  overcharges,  for  when  travelling  one  does  not 
mind  over-paying  if  one  is  properly  treated,  but 
for  his  impudence  in  furnishing  provisions  that 
even  a  dog  would  not  eat.  Had  it  not  been  that 
I  had  other  provisions  with  me  I  should  have 
fared  very  badly  on  the  long  drive  to  Teheran. 

It  may  interest  future  travellers  to  know  that 
the  building  where  the  hotel  was  at  the  time  of 
my  visit,  August,  1901,  has  now  been  taken  over 


IV 


THE  ONLY  BANK  43 


for  five  years  by  the  Russian  Bank  in  order  to 
open  a  branch  of  their  business  in  Resht,  and 
that  the  hotel  itself,  I  beUeve,  has  now  shifted 
to  even  less  palatial  quarters  ! 

The  Imperial  Bank  of  Persia  has  for  some 
years  had  a  branch  in  Resht,  and  until  1901  was 
the  only  banking  establishment  in  the  town. 


CHAPTER  V 

Rcsht — Impostors — A  visit  to  the  Head  Mullah — Quaint  notions 
— Arrangements  for  the  drive  to  Teheran — The  Russian 
concession  of  the  Teheran  road — The  stormy  Caspian  and 
unsafe  harbours— The  great  Menzil  bridge — A  detour  in 
the  road — Capital  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  road 
— Mistaken  English  notions  of  Russia — Theory  and  practice 
— High  tolls — Exorbitant  fares — A  speculator's  offer  re- 
fused —  Development  of  the  road. 

Resht  is  an  odious  place  in  every  way.  It  is, 
as  it  were,  the  "  Port  Said  "  of  Persia,  for  here 
the  scum  of  Armenia,  of  Southern  Russia,  and  of 
Turkestan,  stagnates,  unable  to  proceed  on  the 
long  and  expensive  journey  to  Teheran.  One 
cannot  go  out  for  a  walk  without  being  accosted 
by  any  number  of  impostors,  often  in  European 
clothes,  who  cling  like  leeches  and  proceed  to  try- 
to  interest  you  in  more  or  less  plausible  swindles. 
One  meets  a  great  many  people,  too,  who  are  on 
the  look  out  for  a  "  lift  "  in  one's  carriage  to  the 
Persian  capital. 

I  paid  quite  an  interesting  visit  to  a  near 
relation  of  the  Shah's,  who  was  the  guest  of  the 
local  Head  Mullah.  The  approach  to  the 
Mullah's  palace  was  not  attractive.  I  was  con- 
veyed   through    narrow   passages,    much    out    of 


CH.  V    VISITING  THE  HIGH  MULLAH         45 

repair,  until  we  arrived  in  front  of  a  staircase 
at  the  toot  of  which  lay  in  a  row,  and  in  pairs, 
shoes  of  all  sizes,  prices,  and  ages,  patiently 
waiting  for  their  respective  owners  inside  the 
house.  A  great  many  people  were  outside  in 
the  courtyard,  some  squatting  down  and  smoking 
a  kalian,  which  was  passed  round  after  a  puff  or 
two  from  one  person  to  the  other,  care  being 
taken  by  the  last  smoker  to  wipe  the  mouthpiece 
with  the  palm  of  his  hand  before  handing  it  to 
his  neighbour.  Others  loitered  about  and  con- 
versed in  a  low  tone  of  voice. 

A  Mullah  received  me  at  the  bottom  of  the 
staircase  and  led  me  up  stairs  to  a  large  European- 
looking  room,  with  glass  windows,  cane  chairs, 
and  Austrian  glass  candelabras.  There  were  a 
number  of  Mullahs  in  their  long  black  robes, 
white  or  green  sashes,  and  large  turbans,  sitting 
round  the  room  in  a  semicircle,  and  in  the 
centre  sat  the  high  Mullah  with  the  young 
prince  by  his  side.  They  all  rose  when  I  en- 
tered, and  I  was  greeted  in  a  dignified  yet  very 
friendly  manner.  A  chair  was  given  me  next  to 
the  high  Mullah,  and  the  usual  questions  about 
one's  family,  the  vicissitudes  of  one's  journey, 
one's  age,  one's  plans,  the  accounts  of  what  one 
had  seen  in  other  countries,  were  duly  gone 
through. 

It  was  rather  curious  to  notice  the  interest 
displayed  by  the  high  Mullah  in  our  South 
African  war.  He  seemed  anxious  to  know 
whether  it  was  over  yet,  or  when  it  would  be 
over.      Also,  how  was  it  that  a  big   nation   Hkc 


46  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Great  Britain  could  not  conquer  a  small  nation 
like  the  Boers. 

"  It  is  easier  for  an  elephant  to  kill  another 
elephant,"  I  replied,  "  than  for  him  to  squash  a 
mosquito." 

"  Do  you  not  think,"  said  the  Mullah,  "  that 
England  is  now  an  old  nation,  tired  and  worn — 
too  old  to  fight  .?  Nations  are  like  individuals. 
They  can  fight  in  youth — they  must  rest  in  old 
age.  She  has  lived  in  glory  and  luxury  too  long. 
Glory  and  luxury  make  nations  weak.  Persia  is 
an  example." 

"  Yes,  there  is  much  truth  in  your  sayings. 
We  are  tired  and  worn.  We  have  been  and  are 
still  fast  asleep  in  consequence.  But  maybe  the 
day  will  come  when  we  shall  wake  up  much 
refreshed.  We  are  old  enough  to  learn,  but  not 
to  die  yet." 

He  was  sorry  that  England  was  in  trouble. 

Tea,  or  rather  sugar  with  some  drops  of  tea 
on  it  was  passed,  in  tiny  little  glasses  with 
miniature  perforated  tin  spoons.  Then  another 
cross-examination. 

"  Do  you  drink  spirits  and  wine  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Do  you  smoke  .?  " 

"  No." 

"  You  would  make  a  good  Mussulman." 

"  Possibly,  but  not  probably." 

"  In  your  travels  do  you  find  the  people  gener- 
ally good  or  bad  ?  " 

"  Taking  things  all  round,  in  their  badness,  I 
find  the  people  usually  pretty  good." 


V         TOO  PREPOSTEROUS  FOR  WORDS      47 

"  How  much  does  your  King  give  you  to  go 
about  seeing;  forei2:n  countries  ?  " 

"  The  King  gives  me  nothing.  I  go  at  my 
ow^n  expense." 

This  statement  seemed  to  take  their  breath 
away.  It  was  bad  enough  for  a  man  to  be 
sent — for  a  consideration — by  his  own  Govern- 
ment to  a  strange  land,  but  to  pay  for  the 
journey  one's  self,  why  !  it  seemed  to  them  too 
preposterous  for  words.  They  had  quite  an 
excited  discussion  about  it  among  themselves, 
the  Persian  idea  being  that  every  man  must 
sponge  upon  the  Government  to  the  utmost 
extent. 

The  young  Prince  hoped  that  I  would  travel 
as  his  guest  in  his  carriage  to  Teheran.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  I  had  made  other  arrange- 
ments, and  was  unable  to  accept  his  invitation. 

My  visit  ended  with  renewed  salaams  and  good 
wishes  on  their  part  for  my  welfare  on  the  long 
journey  I  was  about  to  undertake.  I  noticed 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  Prince,  who 
shook  my  hand  warmly,  the  Mullahs  bowed 
over  and  over  again,  but  did  not  touch  my  hand. 

Now  for  the  business  visit  at  the  post  station. 
After  a  good  deal  of  talk  and  an  unlimited  con- 
sumption of  tea,  it  had  been  arranged  that  a 
landau  with  four  post  horses  to  be  changed  every 
six  farsakhs,  at  each  post  station,  and  afburgofi — 
a  large  van  without  springs,  also  with  four 
horses, — for  luggage,  should  convey  me  to 
Teheran.  So  httle  luggage  is  allowed  inside 
one's     carriage     that     an     additional    foiirgon     is 


48  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

nearly  always  required.  One  is  told  that  large 
packages  can  be  forwarded  at  a  small  cost  by 
the  postal  service,  and  that  they  will  reach 
Teheran  soon  after  the  passengers,  but  unhappy 
is  the  person  that  tries  the  rash  experiment. 
There  is  nothing  to  guarantee  him  that  he  will 
ever  see  his  luggage  again.  In  Persia,  a  golden 
rule  while  travelling,  that  may  involve  some  loss 
of  time  but  will  avoid  endless  trouble  and  worry 
in  the  end,  is  never  to  let  one's  luggage  go  out 
of  sight.  One  is  told  that  the  new  Teheran 
road  is  a  Russian  enterprise,  and  therefore  quite 
reliable,  and  so  it  is,  but  not  so  the  company  of 
transportation,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  natives, 
the  firm  of  Messrs.  Bagheroff  Brothers,  which 
is  merely  subsidized  by  the  Russian  Road 
Company. 

As  every  one  knows,  in  1893  the  Russians 
obtained  a  concession  to  construct  a  carriage- 
road  from  Piri- Bazaar  via  Resht  to  Kasvin,  an 
extension  to  Hamadan,  and  the  purchase  of  the 
road  from  Kasvin  to  Teheran,  which  was  already 
in  existence.  Nominally  the  concession  was  not 
granted  to  the  Russian  Government  itself — as  is 
generally  believed  in  England — but  to  a  private 
company — the  "  Compagnie  d'Assurance  et  de 
Transport  en  Perse,"  which,  nevertheless,  is  a 
mere  off-shoot  of  Government  enterprise  and 
is  backed  by  the  Russian  Government  to  no 
mean  degree.  The  Company's  headquarters  are 
in  Moscow,  and  in  Persia  the  chief  office  is  at 
Kasvin. 

Here  it  may  be  well  to  add  that   if  this  im- 


V  AN  EXCELLENT  INVESTMENT         49 

portant  concession  slipped  out  of  our  hands  we 
have  only  ourselves  to  blame.  We  can  in  no 
w2Ly  accuse  the  Russians  of  taking  advantage  of 
us,  but  can  only  admire  them  for  know^ing  how 
to  take  advantage  of  a  good  opportunity.  We 
had  the  opportunity  first  ;  it  was  offered  us  in 
the  first  instance  by  Persia  which  needed  a  loan 
of  a  paltry  sixty  million  francs,  or  a  little  over 
two  million  pounds  sterling.  The  concession 
was  offered  as  a  guarantee  for  the  loan,  but  we, 
as  usual,  temporised  and  thought  it  over  and 
argued — especially  the  people  who  did  not  know 
what  they  were  arguing  about — and  eventually 
absolutely  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
the  scheme.  The  Russians  had  the  next  offer 
and  jumped  at  it,  as  was  natural  in  people  well 
versed  in  Persian  affairs,  and  well  able  to  foresee 
the  enormous  possibilities  of  such  an  undertaking. 

It  was,  beyond  doubt,  from  the  very  beginning 
— except  to  people  absolutely  ignorant  and 
mentally  blind — that  the  concession,  apart  from 
its  political  importance,  was  a  most  excellent 
financial  investment.  Not  only  would  the  road 
be  most  useful  for  the  transit  of  Russian  goods 
to  the  capital  of  Persia,  and  from  there  all  over  the 
country,  but  for  military  purposes  it  would  prove 
invaluable.  Maybe  its  use  in  the  latter  capacity 
will  be  shown  sooner  than  we  in  England  think. 

Of  course,  to  complete  the  scheme  the  landing 
at  Enzeli  must  still  be  improved,  so  that  small 
ships  may  enter  in  safety  and  land  passengers  and 
goods  each  journey  without  the  unpleasant  alter- 
native, which  we  have  seen,  of  having  to  return 

VOL     I  E 


50  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

to  one's  point  of  departure  and  begin  again,  two, 
or  three,  or  even  four  times.  One  gentleman  I 
met  in  Persia  told  me  that  on  one  occasion  the 
journey  from  Baku  to  Enzeli — thirty-six  hours 
— occupied  him  the  space  of  twenty-six  days  ! 

The  Caspian  is  stormy  the  greater  part  of  the 
year,  the  water  shallow,  no  protection  from  the 
wind  exists  on  any  side,  and  wrecks,  considering 
the  small  amount  of  navigation  on  that  sea,  are 
extremely  frequent.  As  we  have  seen,  there  are 
not  more  than  six  feet  of  water  on  the  bar  at 
Enzeli,  but  with  a  jetty  which  could  be  built  at 
no  very  considerable  expense  (as  it  probably  will 
be  some  day)  and  a  dredger  kept  constantly  at 
work,  Enzeli  could  become  quite  a  possible  har- 
bour, and  the  dangers  of  long  delays  and  the 
present  risks  that  await  passengers  and  goods, 
if  not  absolutely  avoided,  would  at  least  be 
minimised  to  an  almost  insignificant  degree. 
The  navigation  of  the  lagoon  and  stream  presents 
no  difficulty,  and  the  Russians  have  already  ob- 
tained the  right  to  widen  the  mouth  of  the 
Murd-ap  at  Enzeli,  in  conjunction  with  the 
concession  of  the   Piri-Bazaar-Teheran  road. 

The  road  was  very  easy  to  make,  being  mostly 
over  flat  country  and  rising  to  no  great  elevation, 
5,000  feet  being  the  highest  point.  It  follows 
the  old  caravan  track  nearly  all  the  way,  the  only 
important  detour  made  by  the  new  road  being 
between  Paichinar  and  Kasvin,  to  avoid  the  high 
Kharzan  or  Kiajan  pass — 7,500  feet — over  which 
the  old  track  went. 

Considering  the  nature  of  the  country  it  crosses, 


■  V 


lUL^ 


it 


i'-4 


V  THE  RESHT— KASVIN  ROAD  51 

the  new  road  is  a  good  one  and  is  well  kept. 
Three  large  bridges  and  fifty-eight  small  ones 
have  been  spanned  across  streams  and  ravines, 
the  longest  being  the  bridge  at  Menzil,  142 
yards  long. 

From  Resht,  via  Deschambe  Bazaar,  to  Kudum 
the  road  strikes  due  south  across  country.  From 
Kudum  (altitude,  292  feet)  to  Rudbar  (665  feet) 
the  road  is  practically  along  the  old  track  on  the 
north-west  bank  of  the  Kizil  Uzen  River,  which, 
from  its  source  flows  first  in  a  south-easterly  direc- 
tion, and  then  turns  at  Menzil  almost  at  a  right 
angle  towards  the  north-east,  changing  its  name 
into  Sefid  Rud  (the  White  River).  Some  miles 
after  passing  Rudbar,  the  river  has  to  be  crossed 
by  the  great  bridge,  to  reach  Menzil,  which  lies 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream. 

From  Menzil  to  Kasvin  the  Russian  engineers 
had  slightly  more  trouble  in  constructing  the 
road.  A  good  deal  of  blasting  had  to  be  done 
to  make  the  road  sufficiently  broad  for  wheeled 
traffic  ;  then  came  the  important  detour,  as  we 
have  seen,  from  Paichinar  to  Kasvin,  so  that 
practically  the  portion  of  the  road  from  Menzil 
to  Kasvin  is  a  new  road  altogether,  via  Mala  Ali 
and  Kuhim,  the  old  track  being  met  again  at  the 
village  of  Agha  Baba. 

The  width  of  the  road  averages  twenty-one 
feet.  In  difficult  places,  such  as  along  ravines, 
or  where  the  road  had  to  be  cut  into  the  rock, 
it  is  naturally  less  wide,  but  nowhere  under  four- 
teen feet.  The  gradient  averages  i — 20  to  i — 24. 
At  a  very  few  points,  however,  it  is   as  steep  as 

E   2 


52  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

I  in  15.  If  the  hill  portion  of  the  road  is  ex- 
cepted, where,  being  in  zig-zag,  it  has  very  sharp 
angles,  a  light  railway  could  be  laid  upon  it  in  a 
surprisingly  short  time  and  at  no  considerable 
expense,  the  ground  having  been  made  very  hard 
nearly  all  along  the  road. 

The  capital  of  ^340,000  employed  in  the 
construction  of  the  road  was  subscribed  in  the 
following  manner  :  1,000  shares  of  1,000  rubles 
each,  or  1,000,000  rubles  original  capital  sub- 
scribed in  Moscow  ;  1,000,000  rubles  debentures 
taken  by  the  Russian  Government,  and  a  further 
500,000  rubles  on  condition  that  700,000  rubles 
additional  capital  were  subscribed,  which  was  at 
once  done  principally  by  the  original  share- 
holders. 

The  speculation  had  from  the  very  beginning 
a  prospect  of  being  very  successful,  even  merely 
considered  as  a  trade  route — a  prospect  which 
the  British  Government,  capitalist,  and  merchant 
did  not  seem  to  grasp,  but  which  was  fully  ' 
appreciated  by  the  quicker  and  more  far-seeing 
Russian  official  and  trader.  Any  fair-minded 
person  cannot  help  admiring  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment for  the  insight,  enterprise  and  sound  states- 
manship with  which  it  lost  no  time  in  sup- 
porting the  scheme  (discarded by  us  as  worthless), 
and  this  it  did,  not  by  empty-winded,  pompous 
speeches  and  temporising  promises,  to  which  we 
have  so  long  been  accustomed,  but  by  supplying 
capital  in  hard  cash,  for  the  double  purpose  of 
enhancing  to  its  fullest  extent  Russian  trade 
and  of  gaining  the  strategic  advantages   of  such 


V  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  53 

an    enterprise,    which    are    too    palpable    to     be 
referred  to  again. 

So  it  was,  that  while  we  in  England  relied  on 
the  everlasting  and  ever-idiotic  notion  that 
Russia  would  never  have  the  means  to  take  up 
the  loan,  being — as  we  are  told — a  bankrupt 
country  with  no  resources,  and  a  Government 
with  no  credit  and  no  cash, — that  we  found 
ourselves  left  (and  laughed  at),  having  lost  an 
opportunity  which  will  never  present  itself  again, 
and  which  will  eventually  cost  us  the  loss  of 
Northern  Persia,  if  not  of  the  whole  of  Persia. 

Russia — it  is  only  too  natural — having  once 
set  her  foot,  or  even  both  feet,  on  Persian 
soil,  now  tries  to  keep  out  other  nations — which, 
owing  to  her  geographical  position,  she  can  do 
with  no  effort  and  no  trouble — in  order  to 
enhance  her  youthful  but  solid  and  fast-growing 
industries  and  trade. 

In  the  case  of  the  Teheran  road,  the  only  one, 
it  must  be  remembered,  leading  with  any  safety 
to  the  Persian  capital,  it  is  theoretically  open  to 
all  nations.  Practically,  Russian  goods  alone 
have  a  chance  of  being  conveyed  by  this  route, 
owing  to  the  prohibitive  Customs  duties  exacted 
in  Russia  on  foreign  goods  in  transit  for  Persia. 
Russia  is  already  indirectly  reaping  great  profits 
through  this  law,  especially  on  machinery  and 
heavy  goods  that  have  no  option  and  must  be 
transported  by  this  road.  There  is  no  other  way 
by  which  they  can  reach  Teheran  on  wheels. 
But  the  chief  and  more  direct  profit  of  the 
enterprise   itself  is  derived   from    the    high    tolls 


54  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

which  the  Russian  Company,  with  the  authorisa- 
tion of  the  Persian  Government,  has  estabhshed  on 
the  road  traffic,  in  order  to  reimburse  the  capital 
paid  out  and  interest  to  shareholders. 

The  road  tolls  are  paid  at  Resht  (and  at  inter- 
mediate stations  if  travellers  do  not  start  from 
Resht),  and  amount  to  4  krans  =  js.  %d.  for  each 
pack  animal,  whether  it  be  a  camel,  a  horse,  a 
mule,  or  a  donkey. 

A  post-carriage  with  four  horses  (the  usual 
conveyance  hired  between  Resht  and  Teheran) 
pays  a  toll  of  no  less  than  \js.  2d. 

s.    d. 

A  carriage  with  3  horses   .     .     .      126 
„  „     2       „        ...        84 

„  ,,      I  horse     ...       42 

Kfourgon,  or  luggage  van,  4  horses,  ;^i   os.  lod. 

Passengers  are  charged  extra  and  above  these 
tolls,  so  that  a  landau  or  a  victoria,  for  instance, 
actually  pays  ^i  Sj-.  for  the  right  of  using  the 
road,  and  a  fourgon  with  one's  servants,  as 
much  as  ^Ti    13^.  2d. 


The    fares    for    the 

hire 

of 

the    conveyance 

are  very  high  : — 
Landau 

1 1 

s.        d. 

16     7 

Victoria 

. 

10 

16     7 

Coupe    .      . 
Fourgon     . 

;  : 

1 1 
10 

4   10 
0   10 

As  only  72  lbs.  of  personal  luggage  are 
allowed  in  the  landau  or  65  lbs.  in  other 
carriages,  and  this  weight  must  be  in  small 
packages,    one    is    compelled    to    hire    a    second 


V  FROM  RESHT  TO  TEHERAN  55 

conveyance,  a  fourgon,  which  can  carry  650  lbs. 
Every  pound  exceeding  these  weights  is  charged 
for  at  the  rate  of  two  shilKngs  for  every  i  3J  lbs. 
of  luggage.  The  luggage  is  weighed  with 
great  accuracy  before  starting  from  Resht, 
and  on  arrival  in  Teheran.  Care  is  taken  to 
exact  every  half-penny  to  which  the  company 
is  entitled  on  luggage  fares,  and  much  incon- 
venience and  delay  is  caused  by  the  Persian 
officials  at  the  scales.  It  is  advisable  for  the 
traveller  to  be  present  when  the  luggage  is 
weighed,   to  prevent  fraud. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  to  travel  the  200 
miles,  the  distance  from  Resht  to  Teheran, 
the  cost,  without  counting  incidental  expenses, 
tips   (amounting  to  some   £1^   or  more),  etc., 

£    s.      d.  £    s.  d.  I    s.    d 

Landau,  1 1  1 6  7  plus  toll,  i  80.  .  13  47 
Four^^on,  10     010      „       „     1132.      .      11140 


Total ;^24   18   7 

which  is  somewhat  high  for  a  journey  of  only 
72   to  80  hours. 

This  strikes  one  all  the  more  when  one 
compares  it  with  the  journey  of  several  thousand 
miles  in  the  greatest  of  luxury  from  London 
across  Holland,  Germany,  Russia,  and  the 
Caspian  to  Enzeli,  which  can  be  covered  easily 
by  three  five-pound  notes. 

As  every  one  knows,  the  road  from  Piri- 
Bazaar  to  Kasvin  and  Teheran  was  opened  for 
wheel   traffic   in  January    1899. 


56  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS       chap,  v 

I  am  told  that  in  1899 — before  the  road  was 
completed — a  Persian  speculator  offered  the  sum 
of  £200  a  day  to  be  paid  in  cash  every  evening, 
for  the  contract  of  the  tolls.  The  offer  was 
most  emphatically  refused,  as  the  daily  tolls  even 
at   that    time  amounted  to   between   ^^I'jo   and 

In  these  last  three  years  the  road  has  developed 
in  a  most  astounding  manner,  and  the  receipts, 
besides  being  now  considerably  greater,  are 
constantly  increasing.  The  Russian  shareholders 
and  Government  can  indeed  fairly  congratulate 
themselves  on  the  happy  success  which  their 
well-thought-out  investment  has  fairly  won 
them. 


CHAPTER   VI 

A  journey  by  landau  and  four — Picturesque  coachman — Tolls 
—  Intense  moisture  —  Luxuriant  vegetation  —  Deschambe 
Bazaar — The  silk  industry  of  Ghilan — The  cultivation  and 
export  of  rice — The  Governor's  energy — Agriculture  and 
Allah — The  vi^ater  question — The  coachman's  backshish — 
The  White  River — Olive  groves — Halting  places  on  the 
road — The  effects  of  hallucination — Princes  abundant. 

We  have  seen  how  the  road  was  made. 
Now  let  us  travel  on  it  in  the  hired  landau 
and  four  horses  driven  by  a  wild-looking  coach- 
man, whose  locks  of  jet-black  hair  protrude  on 
either  side  of  his  clean-shaven  neck,  and  match 
in  colour  his  black  astrakan,  spherical,  brimless 
headgear.  Like  all  good  Persians,  he  has  a 
much  pleated  frockcoat  that  once  was  black 
and  is  now  of  various  shades  of  green.  Over 
it  at  the  waist  he  displays  a  most  elaborate 
silver  belt,  and  yet  another  belt  of  leather 
with  a  profusion  of  cartridges  stuck  in  it  and 
a  revolver. 

Why  he  did  not  run  over  half-a-dozen  people 
or  more  as  we  galloped  through  the  narrow 
streets  of  Resht  town  is  incomprehensible  to  me, 
for   the   outside    horses  almost    shaved   the  walls 


58  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

on  both  sides,  and  the  splash-boards  of  the  old 
landau  ditto. 

That  he  did  not  speaks  volumes  for  the 
flexibility  and  suppleness  of  Persian  men, 
women  and  children,  of  whom,  stuck  tight 
against  the  walls  in  order  to  escape  being 
trampled  upon  or  crushed  to  death,  one  got 
mere  glimpses,   at   the  speed    one    went. 

The  corners  of  the  streets,  too,  bore  ample 
testimony  to  the  inaccuracy  of  drivers  in  gauging 
distances,  and  so  did  the  hubs  and  splash-boards 
of  the  post-carriages,  all  twisted  and  staved  in 
by  repeated  collisions. 

It  is  with  great  gusto  on  the  part  of  the 
drivers,  but  with  a  certain  amount  of  alarm 
on  the  part  of  the  passenger,  that  one's  carriage 
chips  off  corner  after  corner  of  the  road  as  one 
turns  them,  and  one  gets  to  thank  Providence 
for  making  houses  in  Persia  of  easily-powdered 
mud  instead  of  solid  stone  or  bricks. 

One's  heart  gets  lighter  when  we  emerge 
into  the  more  sparsely  inhabited  districts  where 
fields  and  heavy  vegetation  line  the  road,  now 
very  wide  and  more  or  less  straight.  Here  the 
speed  is  greatly  increased,  the  coachman  making 
ample  use  of  a  long  stock  whip.  In  Persia 
one  always  travels  full  gallop. 

After  not  very  long  we  pull  up  to  disburse 
the  road  toll  at  a  wayside  collecting  house. 
There  are  a  great  many  caravans  waiting, 
camels,  mules,  donkeys,  horsemen,  fourgons, 
whose  owners  are  busy  counting  hard  silver 
krans     in     little     piles      of    lo    krans    each — a 


VI  THE  THIRST  OF  COACHMEN  59 

toman,  equivalent  to  a  dollar, — w^ithout  which 
payment  they  cannot  proceed.  Post  carriages 
have  precedence  over  everybody,  and  we  are 
served  at  once.  A  receipt  is  duly  given  for  the 
money  paid,  and  we  are  off  again.  The  coach- 
man is  the  cause  of  a  good  deal  of  anxiety, 
for  on  the  chance  of  a  handsome  backshish  he^ 
has  indulged  in  copious  advance  libations  ot 
rum  or  votka,  or  both,  the  vapours  of  which  are 
blown  by  the  wind  into  my  face  each  time  that 
he  turns  round  and  breathes  or  speaks.  That 
this  was  a  case  of  the  horses  leading  the  coach- 
man and  not  of  a  man  driving  the  horses,  I  have 
personally  not  the  shade  of  a  doubt,  for  the 
wretch,  instead  of  minding  his  horses,  hung 
backwards,  the  whole  way,  from  the  high  box, 
yelling,  I  do  not  know  what,  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  and  making  significant  gestures  that  he 
was  still  thirsty.  Coachmen  of  all  countries 
invariably  are. 

We  ran  full  speed  into  caravans  of  donkeys, 
scattering  them  all  over  the  place  ;  we  caused 
flocks  of  frightened  sheep  to  stampede  in  all 
directions,  and  only  strings  of  imperturbable 
camels  succeeded  in  arresting  our  reckless  flight, 
for  they  simply  would  not  move  out  of  the  way. 
Every  now  and  then  I  snatched  a  furtive  glance 
at  the  scenery. 

The  moisture  of  the  climate  is  so  great  and 
the  heat  so  intense,  that  the  vegetation  of  the 
whole  of  Ghilan  province  is  luxuriant, — but  not 
picturesque,  mind  you.  There  is  such  a  super- 
abundance of  vegetation,  the  plants  so  crammed 


6o  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS         chap. 

together,  one  on  the  top  of  the  other,  as  it  were, 
all  untidy,  fat  with  moisture,  and  of  such  deep, 
coarse,  blackish-green  tones  that  they  give  the 
scenery  a  heavy  leaden  appearance  instead  of  the 
charming  beauty  of  more  delicate  tints  of  less 
tropical  vegetation. 

We  go  through  Deschambe  Bazaar,  a  place 
noted  for  its  fairs. 

Here  you  have  high  hedges  of  reeds  and  hope- 
lessly entangled  shrubs  ;  there  your  eyes  are 
rested  on  big  stretches  of  agriculture, — Indian 
corn,  endless  paddy  fields  of  rice  and  cotton,  long 
rows  of  mulberry  trees  to  feed  silkworms  upon 
their  leaves.  Silk  is  even  to-day  one  of  the 
chief  industries  of  Ghilan.  Its  excellent  quality 
was  at  one  time  the  pride  of  the  province.  The 
export  trade  of  dried  cocoons  has  been  parti- 
cularly flourishing  of  late,  and  although  prices 
and  the  exchanges  have  fluctuated,  the  average 
price  obtained  for  them  in  Resht  when  fresh 
was  from  20^  krans  to  22^  krans  (the  kran  being 
equivalent  to  about  fivepence). 

The  cocoon  trade  had  until  recently  been 
almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Armenian,  French 
and  Italian  buyers  in  Resht,  but  now  many 
Persian  merchants  have  begun  to  export  bales  of 
cocoons  direct  to  Marseilles  and  Milan,  the  two 
chief  markets  for  silk,  an  export  duty  of  5  per 
cent  on  their  value  being  imposed  on  them  by 
the  Persian  Government.  The  cocoons  are 
made  to  travel  by  the  shortest  routes,  via  the 
Caspian,  Baku,  Batum,  and  the  Black  Sea. 

The  year  1900  seems  to  have  been  an  excep- 


VI  THE  SILK  INDUSTRY  6i 

tionally  good  year  for  the  production  and  export 
of  cocoons.  The  eggs  for  the  production  of 
silkworms  are  chiefly  imported  by  Levantines 
from  Asia  Minor  (Gimlek  and  Brussa),  and  also 
in  small  quantities  from  France.  According  to 
the  report  of  Mr.  Churchill,  Acting-Consul  at 
Resht,  the  quantity  of  cocoons  exported  during 
that  year  showed  an  increase  of  some  436,800  lbs. 
above  the  quantity  exported  the  previous  year 
(1899)  5  ^^^  ^  comparison  between  the  quantity 
exported  in  1893  and  1900  will  show  at  a  glance 
the  enormous  apparent  increase  in  the  export  of 
dried  cocoons  from  Ghilan. 

1893  .     .         76,160  lbs,   .      .   Value       ^^6,475 
1900  .     .    1,615,488    „     .     .       ,,      £iso,26s 

It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that  the 
value  given  for  1893  may  be  very  incorrect. 

Large  meadows  with  cattle  grazing  upon 
them  ;  wheat  fields,  vegetables  of  all  sorts,  vine- 
yards, all  pass  before  my  eyes  as  in  a  kaleidoscope. 
A  fine  country  indeed  for  farmers.  Plenty  of 
water — even  too  much  of  it, — wood  in  abun- 
dance within  a  stone's  throw. 

Next  to  the  silk  worms,  rice  must  occupy  our 
attention,  being  the  staple  food  of  the  natives  of 
Ghilan  and  constituting  one  of  the  principal 
articles  of  export  from  that  province. 

The  cuhivation  and  the  export  of  rice  from 
Ghilan  have  in  the  last  thirty  years  become  very 
important,  and  will  no  doubt  be  more  so  in  the 
near  future,  when  the  mass  of  jungle  and  marshes 


62  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

will  be  cleared  and  converted  into  cultivable 
land.  The  Governor-General  of  Resht  is  shov^- 
ing  great  energy  in  the  right  direction  by  cutting 
new  roads  and  repairing  old  ones  on  all  sides, 
which  ought  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  country. 

In  Persia,  remember,  it  is  not  easy  to  learn 
anything  accurately.  And  as  for  Persian  statis- 
tics, unwise  is  the  man  who  attaches  any  import- 
ance to  them.  Much  as  I  would  like  to  quote 
statistics,  I  cannot  refrain  from  thinking  that  no 
statistics  are  a  hundredfold  better  than  slip-shod, 
haphazard,  inaccurate  ones.  And  this  rule  I 
must  certainly  apply  to  the  export  of  rice  from 
Ghilan  to  Europe,  principally  Russia,  during 
1900,  and  will  limit  myself  to  general  remarks. 

Extensive  tracts  of  country  have  been  cleared 
of  reeds  and  useless  vegetation,  and  converted  into 
paddy  fields,  the  natives  irrigating  the  country 
in  a  primitive  fashion. 

It  is  nature  that  is  mostly  responsible  if  the 
crops  are  not  ruined  year  after  year,  the  thought- 
less inhabitants,  with  their  natural  laziness,  doing 
little  more  than  praying  Allah  to  give  them 
plenty  of  rain,  instead  of  employing  the  more 
practical  if  more  laborious  expedient  of  artificially 
irrigating  their  country  in  some  efficient  manner, 
which  they  could  easily  do  from  the  streams 
close  at  hand.  Perhaps,  in  addition  to  this,  the 
fact  that  water — except  rain-water — has  ever  to 
be  purchased  in  Persia,  may  also  account  to  a 
certain  extent  for  the  inability  to  aff'ord  paying 
for  it.  In  1899,  for  instance,  rain  failed  to  come 
and   the   crops   were   insufficient  even   for   local 


VI  TOWARDS  KUDUM  63 

consumption,  which  caused  the  population  a 
good  deal  of  suffering.  But  1900,  fortunately, 
surpassed  all  expectations,  and  was  an  excellent 
year  for  rice  as  well  as  cocoons. 

We  go  through  thickly-wooded  country,  then 
through  a  handsome  forest,  with  wild  boars 
feeding  peacefully  a  few  yards  from  the  road. 
About  every  six  farsakhs — or  twenty-four 
miles — the  horses  of  the  carriage,  and  those  of 
the  fourgon  following  closely  behind,  are  changed 
at  the  post-stations,  as  well  as  the  driver,  who 
leaves  us,  after  carefully  removing  his  saddle  from 
the  box  and  the  harness  of  the  horses.  He 
has  to  ride  back  to  his  point  of  departure  with 
his  horses.  He  expects  a  present  of  two  krans, 
— or  more  if  he  can  get  it — and  so  does 
the  driver  of  the  fourgon.  Two  krans  is  the 
recognised  tip  for  each  driver,  and  as  one  gets 
some  sixteen  or  seventeen  for  each  vehicle, — 
thirty-two  or  thirty-four  if  you  hav^e  two  con- 
veyances,— between  Resht  and  Teheran,  one 
finds  it  quite  a  sufficient  drain  on  one's 
exchequer. 

As  one  gets  towards  Kudum,  where  one 
strikes  the  Sefid  River,  we  begin  to  rise  and  the 
country  gets  more  hilly  and  arid.  We  gradually 
leave  behind  the  oppressive  dampness,  which 
suggests  miasma  and  fever,  and  begin  to  breathe 
air  which,  though  very  hot,  is  drier  and  purer. 
We  have  risen  262  feet  at  Kudum  from  yy  feet, 
the  altitude  of  Resht,  and  as  we  travel  now  in  a 
south-south-west  direction,  following  the  stream 
upwards,  we  keep  getting  higher,  the  elevation  at 


64  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Rustamabad  being  already  630  feet.  We  leave 
behind  the  undulating  ground,  covered  with 
thick  forests,  and  come  to  barren  hills,  that  get 
more  and  more  important  as  we  go  on.  We 
might  almost  say  that  the  country  is  becoming 
quite  mountainous,  with  a  few  shrubs  here  and 
there  and  scenery  of  moderate  beauty,  (for 
any  one  accustomed  to  greater  mountains),  but 
quite  "  wildly  beautiful  "  for  the  ordinary  travel- 
ler. We  then  get  to  the  region  of  the  grey 
olive  groves,  the  trees  with  their  contorted, 
thickly-set  branches  and  pointed  leaves.  What 
becomes  of  the  olives  .?  They  are  exported  to 
Europe, — a  flourishing  trade,  I  am  told. 

One  bumps  a  great  deal  in  the  carriage,  for 
the  springs  are  not  "  of  the  best,"  and  are  hidden 
in  rope  bandages  to  keep  them  from  falling  apart. 
The  road,  too,  is  not  as  yet  like  a  billiard  table. 
The  doors  of  the  landau  rattle  continuously,  the 
metal  fastenings  having  long  disappeared,  and 
being  replaced  by  bits  of  string. 

One  travels  incessantly,  baked  in  the  sun  by 
day  and  chilled  by  the  cold  winds  at  night, 
trying  to  get  a  little  sleep  with  one's  head 
dangling  over  the  side  of  the  carriage,  one's  legs 
cramped,  and  all  one's  bones  aching.  But  this 
is  preferable  to  stopping  at  any  of  the  halting- 
places  on  the  road,  whether  Russian  or  Persian, 
which  are  filthy  beyond  words,  and  where  one  is 
mercilessly  swindled.  Should  one,  however,  be 
compelled  to  stop  anywhere  it  is  preferable  to  go 
to  a  thoroughly  Persian  place,  where  one  meets  at 
least  with  more  courtesy,  and  where  one  is  imposed 


VI  HALLUCINATION  65 

upon  in  a  more  modest  and  less  aggressive  way 
than  at  the  Russian  places.  It  must,  however, 
be  stated  that  the  Russian  places  are  usually  in 
charge  of  over-zealous  Persians,  or  else  in  the 
hands  of  inferior  Russian  subjects,  who  try  to 
make  all  they  can  out  of  their  exile  in  the  lonely 
stations. 

I  occasionally  halted  for  a  glass  of  tea  at  the 
Persian  Khafe-Khanas,  and  in  one  of  them  a  very 
amusing  incident  happened,  showing  the  serious 
effects  that  hallucination  may  produce  on  a 
weak-minded  person. 

I  had  got  off  the  carriage  and  had  carried  into 
the  khafe-khana  my  camera,  and  also  my 
revolver  in  its  leather  case  which  had  been  lying 
on  the  seat  of  the  carriage.  At  my  previous 
halt,  having  neglected  this  precaution,  my 
camera  had  been  tampered  with  by  the  natives, 
the  lenses  had  been  removed,  and  the  eighteen 
plates  most  of  them  already  with  pictures  on 
them — that  were  inside,  exposed  to  the  light  and 
thrown  about,  with  their  slides,  in  the  sand.  So  to 
avoid  a  repetition  of  the  occurrence,  and  to  prevent 
a  probable  accident,  I  brought  all  into  the  khafe- 
kana  room  and  deposited  the  lot  on  the  raised 
mud  portion  along  the  wall,  seating  myself  next 
to  my  property.  I  ordered  tea,  and  the  at- 
tendant, with  many  salaams,  explained  that  his 
fire  had  gone  out,  but  that  if  I  would  wait  a  few 
minutes  he  would  make  me  some  fresh  cliali.  I 
consented.  He  inquired  whether  the  revolver 
was  loaded,  and  I  said  it  was.  He  proceeded  to 
the  further  end  of  the  room,  where,  turning   his 

VOL.    I  F 


ee  ACROSS  coveted  lands  chap. 

back  to  me,  he  began  to  blow  upon  the  fire,  and 
I,  being  very  thirsty,  sent  another  man  to  my 
fourgon  to  bring  me  a  bottle  of  soda-water.  The 
imprisoned  gases  of  the  soda,  which  had  been  lying 
for  the  whole  day  in  the  hot  sun,  had  so  ex- 
panded that  when  I  removed  the  wire  the  cork 
went  off  with  a  loud  report  and  unfortunately  hit 
the  man  in  the  shoulder  blade.  By  association 
of  ideas  he  made  so  certain  in  his  mind  that  it 
was  the  revolver  that  had  gone  off  that  he 
absolutely  collapsed  in  a  semi-faint,  under  the 
belief  that  he  had  been  badly  shot.  He  moaned 
and  groaned,  trying  to  reach  with  his  hand  what 
he  thought  was  the  wounded  spot,  and  called  for 
his  son  as  he  felt  he  was  about  to  die.  We  sup- 
ported him,  and  gave  him  some  water  and  re- 
assured him,  but  he  had  turned  as  pale  as  death. 

"  What  have  I  done  to  you  that  you  kill  me  ?  " 
he  moaned  pitifully. 

"  But,  good  man,  you  have  no  blood  flowing, 
—look  !  " 

A  languid,  hopeless  glance  at  the  ground, 
where  he  had  fallen  and  sure  enough,  he  could 
find  no  blood.  He  tried  to  see  the  wound,  but 
his  head  could  not  revolve  to  a  sufficiently  wide 
arc  of  a  circle  to  see  his  shoulder-blade,  so  in  due 
haste  we  removed  his  coat  and  waistcoat  and 
shirt,  and  after  slow,  but  careful,  keen  ex- 
amination, he  discovered  that  not  only  there  were 
no  marks  of  flowing  blood,  but  no  trace  whatever 
of  a  bullet  hole  in  any  of  his  garments.  Even 
then  he  was  not  certain,  and  two  small  mirrors 
were    sent    for,    which,    by   the    aid   of  a  sym- 


VI  PRINCES  PLENTIFUL  67 

pathising  friend,  he  got  at  proper  angles  minutely 
to  survey  his  whole  back. 

He  eventually  recovered,  and  was  able  to 
proceed  with  the  brewing  of  tea,  which  he 
served  with  terribly  trembling  hand  on  the 
rattling  saucer  under  the  tiny  little  glass. 

"  It  was  a  very  narrow  escape  from  death, 
sahib,"  he  said  in  a  wavering  voice — "  for  it 
might  have  been  the  revolver." 

There  is  nothing  like  backshish  in  Persia  to 
heal  all  wounds,  whether  real  or  otherwise,  and 
he  duly  received  an  extra  handsome  one. 

In  Persia  the  traveller  is  particularly  struck  by 
the  number  of  Princes  one  encounters  on  the 
road.  This  is  to  a  certain  extent  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the  word  khan  which  follows 
a  great  many  Persian  names  has  been  translated, 
mainly  by  flattering  French  authors,  into  the 
majestic  but  incorrect  word  "  Prince."  In  many 
cases  the  suffix  of  khan  is  an  equivalent  of  Lord, 
but  in  most  cases  it  is  no  more  than  our  nominal 
"  Esquire." 

I  met  on  the  road  two  fellowss  one  old  and 
very  dignified  ;  the  other  young,  and  who  spoke 
a  little  French.  He  informed  me  that  they  were 
both  Princes.  He  called  his  friend  "  Monsieur 
le  Prince^  mon  ami^'  and  himself  "  Monsieur  le 
Prince^  moi !  "  which  was  rather  amusing.  He 
informed  me  that  he  was  a  high  Customs  ofhcial, 
and  displayed  towards  his  fellow  countrymen  on 
the  road  a  great  many  qualities  that  revealed  a 
very  mean  native  indeed. 

The  elder   one  wore   carpet   shppers  to  wlilch 

F   2 


68  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  ch.  vi 

he  had  attached — I  do  not  know  how — an 
enormous  pair  of  golden  spurs  !  He  was  now 
returning  from  Russia.  He  was  extremely 
gentleman-like  and  seemed  very  much  annoyed 
at  the  behaviour  of  his  companion.  He  begged 
me  to  believe  that  not  all  men  in  Persia  were 
like  his  friend,  and  I  quite  agreed  with  him. 

We  travelled  a  great  portion  of  the  road 
together,  and  the  old  fellow  was  extremely  civil. 
He  was  very  well  informed  on  nearly  all  subjects, 
and  had  belonged  to  the  army.  He  pointed  out 
to  me  the  important  sights  on  the  road,  such  as 
Mount  Janja  (7,489  ft.)  to  the  East. 

After  passing  Rudbar  (665  ft.)  the  road  is 
mostly  in  narrow  gorges  between  mountains.  It 
is  rocky  and  arid,  with  hardly  any  vegetation. 
The  river  has  to  be  crossed  by  the  new  bridge,  a 
handsome  and  solid  structure,  and  we  arrive  at 
the  village  of  Menjil  or  Menzil.  The  Russian 
station-house  is  the  most  prominent  structure. 
Otherwise  all  is  desert  and  barren.  Grey  and 
warm  reddish  tints  abound  in  the  dried-up 
landscape,  and  only  a  few  stunted  olive  groves 
relieve  the  scenery  with  some  vegetable  life. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Menzil  and  the  winds — The  historical  Alamut  mountain — A 
low  plateau — Volcanic  formation — Mol- Ali — A  genuine  case 
of  smallpox — Characteristic  sitting  posture — A  caravan  of 
mules — Rugged  country— The  remains  of  a  volcanic  com- 
motion— The  old  track — Kasvin,  the  city  of  misfortunes — 
The  Governor's  palace  and  palatial  rest  house — Earthquakes 
and  famine — Kanats^  the  marvellous  aqueducts — How  they 
are  made — Manufactures — Kasvin  strategically. 

Perhaps  Menzil  should  be  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  terrific  winds  which,  coming 
from  the  north-east  and  from  the  south,  seem 
to  meet  here,  and  blow  with  all  their  might  at 
all  times  of  the  year.  The  traveller  is  particularly 
exposed  to  them  directly  above  the  river  course 
on  crossing  the  bridge.  Menzil  is  celebrated 
for  these  winds,  which  are  supposed  to  be  the 
worst,  in  all  Persia,  but  unpleasant  as  they  may 
be  to  any  one  who  has  not  experienced  worse, 
they  are  merely  gentle  breezes  as  compared,  for 
instance,  with  the  wind  storms  of  the  Tibetan 
plateau.  To  the  east  there  is  a  very  moun- 
tainous region,  the  Biwarzin  Yarak  range,  or 
Kuse-rud,  averaging  from  6,000  to  7,000  ft.; 
further  north  a  peak  of  7,850  ft.,  and  south-west 
of  the  Janja,  7,489  ft.,  the  high  Salambar,  i  1,290 
ft.     On  the  historical   Mt.  Alamut  the  old   state 


70  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

prisons   were    formerly    to   be  found,   but    were 
afterwards  removed  to  Ardebil. 

From  Menzil  we  have  left  the  Sefid  River 
altogether,  and  we  are  now  in  a  very  mountainous 
region,  with  a  singular  low  plateau  in  the  centre 
of  an  extensive  alluvial  plain  traversed  by  the 
road.  We  cross  the  Shah  Rud,  or  River  of  the 
King,  and  at  Paichinar,  with  its  Russian  post- 
house,  we  have  already  reached  an  altitude  of 
1, 800  ft.  From  this  spot  the  road  proceeds 
through  a  narrow  valley,  through  country  rugged 
and  much  broken  up,  distinctly  volcanic  and 
quite  picturesque.  It  is  believed  that  coal  is  to 
be  found  here. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  prettiest  places  we  had 
yet  come  to  was  Mol-Ali,  a  lovely  shady  spot 
with  veteran  green  trees  all  round.  While  the 
horses  were  being  changed  I  was  asked  by  the 
khafe-khana  man  to  go  and  inspect  a  man  who 
was  ill.  The  poor  fellow  was  wrapped  up  in 
many  blankets  and  seemed  to  be  suffering  greatly. 
He  had  very  high  fever  and  his  was  a  genuine 
case  of  smallpox.  Next  to  him,  quite  uncon- 
cerned, were  a  number  of  Persian  travellers,  who 
had  halted  here  for  refreshments.  They  were 
squatting  on  their  heels,  knees  wide  apart,  and 
arms  balanced,  resting  above  the  elbow  on  their 
knees — the  characteristic  sitting  posture  of  all 
Asiatics.  Very  comfortable  it  is,  too,  when 
you  learn  to  balance  yourself  properly  and  it  leaves 
the  free  use  of  one's  arms.  The  kalian  was  being 
passed  round  as  usual,  and  each  had  a  thimble- 
full  of  sugared  tea. 


VII  COLUMN-LIKE  ROCKS  71 

I  was  much  attracted  by  a  large  caravan  of 
handsome  mules,  the  animals  enjoying  the 
refreshing  shade  of  the  trees.  They  had  huge 
saddles  ornamented  with  silver  pommels  and 
rings  and  covered  over  with  carpets.  Variegated 
cloth  or  carpet  or  red  and  green  leather  saddle- 
bags hung  on  either  side  of  the  animals  behind 
the  saddles.  The  bridle  and  bit  were  richly 
ornamented  with  shells  and  silver  or  iron 
knobs. 

The  few  mud  houses  in  the  neighbourhood  had 
flat  roofs  and  were  not  sufficiently  typical  nor 
inviting  enough  for  a  closer  internal  inspection. 

We  are  now  on  a  tributary  of  the  Shah-rud 
on  the  new  road,  instead  of  the  old  caravan 
track,  which  we  have  left  since  Paichinar. 

The  country  becomes  more  interesting  and 
wild  as  we  go  on.  In  the  undoubtedly  volcanic 
formation  of  the  mountains  one  notices  large 
patches  of  sulphurous  earth  on  the  mountain- 
side, with  dark  red  and  black  baked  soil  above  it. 
Over  that,  all  along  the  range,  curious  column- 
like, fluted  rocks.  Lower  down  the  soil  is 
saturated  with  sulphurous  matter  which  gives  it 
a  rich,  dark  blue  tone  with  greenish  tints  in  it 
and  bright  yellow  patches.  The  earth  all  round 
is  of  a  warm  burnt  sienna  colour,  intensified, 
when  I  saw  it,  by  the  reddish,  soft  rays  of  a 
dying  sun.  It  has  all  the  appearance  of  having 
been  subjected  to  abnormal  heat.  The 
characteristic  shape  of  the  peaks  of  the  range  is 
conical,  and  a  great  many  deep-cut  channels  and 
holes  are   noticeable   in  the  rocky  sides   of  these 


72  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS         chap. 

sugar-loaf   mountains,   as   is   frequently   the  case 
in  mountains  of  volcanic  formation. 

We  rise  higher  and  higher  in  zig-zag  though 
rugged  country,  and  we  then  go  across  an 
intensely  interesting  large  basin,  which  must 
at  a  previous  date  have  been  the  interior  of  an 
exploded  and  now  collapsed  volcano.  This 
place  forcibly  reminded  me  of  a  similar  sight  on 
a  grander  scale, — the  site  of  the  ex-Bandaisan 
Mountain  on  the  main  island  of  Nippon  in 
Japan,  after  that  enormous  mountain  was  blown 
to  atoms  and  disappeared  some  few  years  ago. 
A  huge  basin  was  left,  like  the  bottom  part  of  a 
gigantic  cauldron,  the  edges  of  which  bore 
ample  testimony  to  the  terrific  heat  that  must 
have  been  inside  before  the  explosion  took  place. 
In  the  Persian  scene  before  us,  of  a  much  older 
date,  the  basin,  corroded  as  it  evidently  was  by 
substances  heated  to  a  very  high  temperature  and 
by  the  action  of  forming  gases,  had  been  to  a 
certain  extent  obliterated  by  the  softening  actions 
of  time  and  exposure  to  air.  The  impression 
was  not  so  violent  and  marked  as  the  one  received 
at  Bandaisan,  which  I  visited  only  a  few  days 
after  the  explosion,  but  the  various  characteristics 
were  similar. 

In  the  basin  was  a  solitary  hut,  which  rejoiced 
in  the  name  of  Kort.  These  great  commotions  of 
nature  are  interesting,  but  to  any  one  given  to 
sound  reflection  they  are  almost  too  big  for  the 
human  mind  to  grasp.  They  impress  one,  they 
almost  frighten  one,  but  give  no  reposeful,  real 
pleasure  in   gazing  upon  them  such   as  less  dis- 


VII  KASVIN  73 

turbed  scenery  does.  The  contrasts  in  colour 
and  shape  are  too  violent,  too  crude  to  please  the 
eye  :  the  freaks  too  numerous  to  be  com- 
prehensible at  a  glance.  Here  we  have  a  ditch 
with  sides  perfectly  black-baked,  evidently  by 
lava  or  some  other  hot  substance  which  has 
flowed  through  ;  further  on  big  splashes  of 
violent  red  and  a  great  variety  of  warm  browns. 
The  eye  roams  from  one  spot  to  the  other, 
trying  to  understand  exactly  what  has  taken 
place — a  job  which  occupies  a  good  deal  of  one's 
time  and  attention  as  one  drives  through,  and 
which  would  occupy  a  longer  time  and  study 
than  a  gallop  through  in  a  post  landau  can 
afford. 

At  Agha  Baba  we  were  again  on  the  old  track, 
quite  flat  now,  and  during  the  night  we  galloped 
easily  on  a  broad  road  through  uninteresting 
country  till  we  reached  Kasvin,  185  versts  from 
Resht. 

Kasvin,  in  the  province  of  Irak,  is  a  very 
ancient  city,  which  has  seen  better  days,  has 
gone  through  a  period  of  misfortune,  and  will  in 
future  probably  attain  again  a  certain  amount  of 
prosperity.  It  is  situated  at  an  altitude  of 
4,094  feet  (at  the  Indo-European  telegraph 
oflice),  an  elevation  which  gives  it  a  very  hot 
but  dry,  healthy  climate  with  comparatively  cool 
nights.  The  town  is  handsome,  square  in  form, 
enclosed  in  a  wall  with  towers. 

The  governor's  palace  is  quite  impressive, 
with  a  fine  broad  avenue  of  green  trees  leading 
from  it  to  the  spacious  Kasvin  rest-house.     This 


74  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

is  by  far  the  best  rest-house  on  the  road  to  the 
Persian  capital,  with  large  rooms,  clean  enough 
for  Persia,  and  with  every  convenience  for 
cooking  one's  food.  Above  the  doorway  the 
Persian  lion,  with  the  sun  rising  above  his  back, 
has  been  elaborately  painted,  and  a  picturesque 
pool  of  stagnant  water  at  the  bottom  of  the  steps 
is  no  doubt  the  breeding  spot  of  mosquitoes  and 
flies,  of  which  there  are  swarms,  to  make  one's 
life  a  misery. 

The  palatial  rest-house,  the  governor's  palace, 
a  mosque  or  two,  and  the  convenient  bath-houses 
for  Mahommedans  being  barred,  there  is  nothing 
particular  to  detain  the  traveller  in  Kasvin. 

One  hears  that  Kasvin  occupied  at  one  time  a 
larger  area  than  Teheran  to-day.  The  remains 
of  this  magnitude  are  certainly  still  there.  The 
destruction  of  the  city,  they  say,  has  been  due  to 
many  and  varied  misfortunes.  Earthquakes  and 
famines  in  particular  have  played  an  important 
part  in  the  history  of  Kasvin,  and  they  account 
for  the  many  streets  and  large  buildings  in  ruins 
which  one  finds,  such  as  the  remains  of  the  Sufi 
Palace  and  the  domed  mosque.  The  city  dates 
back  to  the  fourth  century,  but  it  was  not  till 
the  sixteenth  century  that  it  became  the  Dar-el- 
Stiltanat — the  seat  of  royalty — under  Shah 
Tamasp.  It  prospered  as  the  royal  city  until 
the  time  of  Shah  Abbas,  whose  wisdom  made 
him  foresee  the  dangers  of  maintaining  a  capital 
too  near  the  Caspian  Sea.  Isfahan  was  selected 
as  the  future  capital,  from  which  time  Kasvin, 
semi-abandoned,  began  its  decline. 


VII  AQUEDUCTS  75 

In  1870  a  famine  devastated  the  town  to  a 
considerable  extent,  but  even  previous  to  that  a 
great  portion  of  the  place  had  been  left  to  decay, 
so  that  to-day  one  sees  large  stretches  of  ruined 
houses  all  round  the  neighbourhood  and  in 
Kasvin  itself.  The  buildings  are  mostly  one- 
storied,  very  few  indeed  boasting  of  an  upper 
floor.  The  pleasant  impression  one  receives  on 
entering  the  city  is  mostly  caused  by  the  quantity 
of  verdure  and  vegetation  all  round. 

One  of  the  principal  things  which  strike  the 
traveller  in  Persia,  especially  on  nearing  a  big 
city,  is  the  literal  myriads  of  curious  conical 
heaps,  with  a  pit  in  the  centre,  that  one  notices 
running  across  the  plains  in  long,  intermin- 
able rows,  generally  towards  the  mountains. 
These  are  the  kanats^  the  astounding  aqueducts 
with  which  dried-up  Persia  is  bored  in  all  direc- 
tions underground,  the  canals  that  lead  fresh 
water  from  the  distant  springs  to  the  cities,  to 
the  villages,  and  to  irrigate  the  fields.  The 
ancient  process  of  making  these  kanats  has  de- 
scended unchanged  to  the  modern  Persian,  who 
is  really  a  marvellous  expert — when  he  chooses 
to  use  his  skill — at  conveying  water  where  Nature 
has  not  provided  it.  I  watched  some  men  making 
one  of  these  kanats.  They  had  bored  a  vertical 
hole  about  three  feet  in  diameter,  over  which  a 
wooden  windlass  had  been  erected.  One  man 
was  working  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft.  By 
means  of  buckets  the  superfluous  eartli  was  gra- 
dually raised  up  to  the  surfice,  and  the  hole 
bored  further.     The   earth    removed  in   the  ex- 


76  ACROSS  COVETED   LANDS  chap. 

cavation  is  then  embanked  all  round  the  aperture 
of  the  shaft.  When  the  required  depth  is 
attained  a  tunnel  is  pierced,  mostly  with  the 
hands  and  a  small  shovel,  in  a  horizontal  direc- 
tion, and  seldom  less  than  four  feet  high,  two  feet 
wide,  just  big  enough  to  let  the  workman 
through.  Then  another  shaft  has  to  be  made 
for  ventilation's  sake  and  to  raise  to  the  surface 
the  displaced  earth.  Miles  of  these  kanats  are 
thus  bored,  with  air  shafts  every  ten  to  twenty 
feet  distant.  In  many  places  one  sees  thirty, 
forty,  fifty  parallel  long  lines  of  these  aqueducts, 
with  several  thousand  shafts,  dotting  the  surface 
of  the  ground. 

Near  ancient  towns  and  villages  one  finds 
a  great  many  of  these  kanats  dry  and  disused 
at  present,  and  nearly  everywhere  one  sees 
people  at  work  making  fresh  ones,  for  how  to 
get  water  is  one  of  the  great  and  serious  ques- 
tions in  the  land  of  Iran.  Near  Kasvin  these 
kanats  are  innumerable,  and  the  water  carried 
by  them  goes  through  the  streets  of  the  city, 
with  holes  here  and  there  in  the  middle  of  the 
road  to  draw  it  up.  These  holes  are  a  serious 
danger  to  any  one  given  to  walking  about  with- 
out looking  where  he  is  placing  his  feet.  It  is 
mainly  due  to  these  artificial  water-tunnels  that 
the  plain  of  Kasvin,  otherwise  arid  and  oppres- 
sively hot,  has  been  rendered  extremely  fertile. 

There  are  a  great  many  gardens  with  plenty 
of  fruit-trees.  Vineyards  abound,  producing 
excellent  stoneless  grapes,  which,  when  dried,  are 
mostly  exported  to  Russia.   Pomegranates,  water- 


VII  KASVIN  STRATEGICALLY  77 

melons,  cucumbers,  and  cotton  are  also  grown. 
Excellent  horses  and  camels  are  bred  here. 

Kasvin  being  the  half-way  house,  as  it  were, 
between  Resht  and  Teheran,  and  an  important 
city  in  itself,  is  bound — even  if  only  in  a  reflected 
manner — to  feel  the  good  effects  of  having 
through  communication  to  the  Caspian  and  the 
capital  made  so  easy  by  the  completion  of  the 
Russian    road. 

The  silk  and  rice  export  trade  for  Bagdad  has 
gone  up  during  the  last  two  years,  and  in  the 
fertile  plain  in  which  Kasvin  lies  agriculture  is 
beginning  to  look  up  again,  although  not  quite 
so  much  as  in  the  Resht  district,  which  is 
naturally  the  first  to  reap  benefit  from  the 
development  of  Northern  Persia. 

The  chief  manufactures  of  Kasvin  are  carpets, 
a  kind  of  coarse  cotton-cloth  called  kerbas,  velvet, 
brocades,  iron-ware  and  sword-blades,  which  are 
much  appreciated  by  Persians. 

There  is  a  large  bazaar  in  which  many  cheap 
European  goods  are  sold  besides  the  more 
picturesque   articles  of  local   manufacture. 

From  a  strategical  point  of  view,  Kasvin 
occupies  a  position  not  to  be  overlooked,  guard- 
ing as  it  does  the  principal  entrance  from  the 
south   into  the    Ghilan  province. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Four  thousand  feet  above  sea-level — Castellated  walls — An 
obnoxious  individual — Luo;o;a2:e  weighins; — ^The  strange 
figure  of  an  African  black — Hov\^  he  saved  an  Englishman's 
life — Teheran  hotels — Interesting  guests — Life  of  bachelors 
in  Teheran — The  Britisher  in  Persia — Home  early — Social 
sets  —  Etiquette  —  Missionaries  —  Foreign  communities — 
The  servant  question. 

A  FEW  hours'  rest  to  give  one's  aching  bones 
a  chance  of  returning  into  their  normal  condition 
and  position,  and  amidst  the  profound  salaams  of 
the  rest-house  servants,  we  speed  away  towards 
Teheran,  130  versts  more  according  to  the 
Russian  road  measurement  (about  108  miles). 
We  gallo])  on  the  old,  wide  and  flat  road,  on 
which  the  traffic  alone  diverts  one, — long  strings 
of  donkeys,  of  camels,  every  now  and  then  a 
splendid  horse  with  a  swaggering  rider.  We  are 
travelling  on  the  top  of  the  plateau,  and  are 
keeping  at  an  altitude  slightly  above  4,000  feet. 
Distant  mountains  lie  to  the  north,  otherwise 
there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  see,  no  vegetation 
worth  mentioning,  everything  dry  and  barren. 

Now  and  then,  miles  and  miles  apart,  comes 
a  quadrangular  or  rectangular,  castellated  mud 
wall  enclosing  a  cluster  of  fruit  trees  and  vege- 


CH.  VIII      APPROACHING  TEHERAN  79 

table  gardens  ;  then  miles  and  miles  again  of 
dreary,  barren  country. 

Were  it  not  for  the  impudence  of  the  natives 
— increasing  to  a  maximum — there  is  nothing  to 
warn  the  traveller  that  one  is  approaching  the 
capital  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and  one  finds 
one's  self  at  the  gate  of  the  city  without  the  usual 
excitement  of  perceiving  from  a  distance  a  high 
tower,  or  a  dome  or  a  steeple  or  a  fortress,  or  a 
landmark  of  some  sort  or  other,  to  make  one 
enjoy  the  approach  of  one's  journey's  end. 

Abdulabad,  4,015  feet,  Kishslak,  3,950  feet, 
Sankarabad,  4,210  feet,  Sulimaneh,  4,520  feet, 
are  the  principal  places  and  main  elevations  on 
the  road,  but  from  the  last-named  place  the 
incline  in  the  plateau  tends  to  descend  very 
gently.     Teheran  is  at  an  altitude  of  3,865  feet. 

Six  farsakhs  from  Teheran,  where  we  had  to 
change  horses,  an  individual  connected  with  the 
transport  company  made  himself  very  obnoxious, 
and  insisted  on  accompanying  the  carriage  to 
Teheran.  He  was  picturesquely  attired  in  a 
brown  long  coat,  and  displayed  a  nickel-plated 
revolver,  with  a  leather  belt  of  cartridges.  He 
was  cruel  to  the  horses  and  a  nuisance  to  the 
coachman.  He  interfered  considerably  with  the 
progress  of  the  carriage  and  made  himself  un- 
bearable in  every  possible  way.  When  I  stopped 
at  a  khafe-khana  for  a  glass  of  tea,  he  actually 
removed  a  wheel  of  the  carriage,  which  we  had 
considerable  difficulty  in  putting  right  again,  and 
he  pounded  the  coachman  on  the  head  with  the 
butt  of  his   revolver,  in  order,  as   far  as  I  could 


8o  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

understand,  that  he  should  be  induced  to  go  half- 
shares  with  him  in  the  backshish  that  the  driver 
would  receive  at  the  end  of  the  stage. 

All  this  provided  some  entertainment,  until 
we  reached  the  Teheran  gate.  Only  half  a  mile 
more  and  I  should  be  at  the  hotel.  But  man 
proposes  and  the  Persian  disposes.  The  carriage 
and  fourgon  were  driven  into  a  large  courtyard, 
the  horses  were  unharnessed,  all  the  luggage 
removed  from  the  fourgon  and  carriage,  and 
deposited  in  the  dust.  A  primitive  scale  was 
produced  and  slung  to  a  tripod,  and  each  article 
weighed  and  weighed  over  again  so  as  to  take  up 
as  much  of  one's  time  as  possible.  Various 
expedients  to  impose  upon  me,  having  failed 
I  was  allowed  to  proceed,  a  new  fourgon  and 
fresh  horses  being  provided  for  the  journey  of 
half  a  mile  more,  the  obnoxious  man  jumping 
first  on  the  box  so  as  to  prevent  being  left 
behind. 

At  last  the  hotel  was  reached,  and  here 
another  row  arose  with  a  profusion  of  blows 
among  a  crowd  of  beggars  who  had  at  once 
collected  and  disputed  among  themselves  the 
right  of  unloading  my  luggage. 

A  strange  figure  appeared  on  the  scene.  A 
powerful,  half-naked  African,  as  black  as  coal, 
and  no  less  than  six  foot  two  in  height.  He 
sported  a  huge  wooden  club  in  his  hand,  which 
he  whirled  round  in  a  most  dangerous  manner, 
occasionally  landing  it  on  people's  skulls  and 
backs  in  a  sonorous  fashion.  The  crowd 
vanished,    and    he,    now    as    gently   as    possible, 


VIII 


A  PLUCKY  NEGRO  8i 


removed    the     luggage    from    the    fourgon    and 
conveyed  it  into  the  hotel. 

The  obnoxious  man  now  hastily  descended 
from  his  seat  and  demanded  a  backshish. 

"  What  for  ?  " 

"  Oh,  sir,"  intervened  a  Persian  gentleman 
present,  "  this  man  says  he  has  annoyed  you  all 
the  way,  but  he  could  not  make  you  angry.  He 
must  have  backshish  !  He  makes  a  living  by 
annoying  travellers  !  " 

In  contrast  to  this  low,  depraved  parasite,  the 
African  black  seemed  quite  a  striking  figure, — a 
scamp,  if  you  like,  yet  full  of  character.  He 
was  a  dervish,  with  drunken  habits  and  a  fierce 
nature  when  under  the  influence  of  drink,  but 
with  many  good  points  when  sober.  On  one 
occasion  an  Englishman  was  attacked  by  a  crowd 
of  Persians,  and  was  in  danger  of  losing  his  life, 
when  this  man,  with  considerable  bravery  (not 
to  speak  of  his  inseparable  mallet  which  he  used 
freely),  went  to  the  rescue  of  the  sahib  and 
succeeded  in  saving  him.  For  this  act  of 
courage  he  has  ever  since  been  supported  by  the 
charity  of  foreigners  in  Teheran.  He  un- 
fortunately spends  all  his  earnings  in  drink,  and 
can  be  very  coarse  indeed,  in  his  songs  and 
imitations,  which  he  delights  in  giving  when 
under  the  influence  of  liquor.  He  hangs  round 
the  hotel,  crying  out  "  Tahu  !  yahii  !  "  when 
hungry — a  cry  quite  pathetic  and  weird,  especially 
in  the  stillness  of  night. 

There  are  two  hotels  in  Teheran  and  several 
European      and     Armenian      restaurants.       The 

VOL.    I  ^ 


82  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

English  hotel  is  the  best, — not  a  dream  of  clean- 
liness, nor  luxury,  nor  boasting  of  a  cuisine 
which  would  remain  impressed  upon  one's  mind, 
except  for  its  elaborate  monotony, — but  quite  a 
comfortable  place  by  comparison  with  the  other 
European  hotels  of  Persia.  The  beds  are  clean, 
and  the  proprietress  tries  hard  to  make  people 
comfortable. 

More  interesting  than  the  hotel  itself  was  the 
curious  crowd  of  people  whom  one  saw  at  the 
dinner-table.  I  remember  sitting  down  one 
evening  to  dinner  with  nine  other  people,  and 
we  represented  no  less  than  ten  different 
nationalities  !  The  tower  of  Babel  sank  almost 
into  insignificance  compared  with  the  variety 
of  languages  one  heard  spoken  all  round,  and 
one's  polyglot  abilities  were  tested  to  no  mean 
extent  in  trying  to  carry  on  a  general  conversa- 
tion. One  pleasant  feature  of  these  dinners 
was  the  amount  of  talent  and  good-humour 
that  prevailed  in  the  company,  and  the  absolute 
lack  of  distinction  of  class  or  social  posi- 
tion. Side  by  side  one  saw  a  distinguished 
diplomat  conversing  with  the  Shah's  automobile 
driver,  and  a  noteworthy  English  member  of 
Parliament  on  friendly  terms  with  an  Irish 
gentleman  of  the  Indo-European  Telegraphs. 
A  burly,  jolly  Dutchman  stood  drinks  all  round 
to  members  of  the  Russian  and  English  Banks 
alike,  and  a  French  sage-femme  just  arrived 
discussed  her  prospects  with  the  hotel  pro- 
prietress. The  Shah's  A.D.C.  and  favourite 
music-composer   and   pianist  came  frequently  to 


VIII  GENIAL  FRIENDLINESS  83 

enliven  the  evenings  with  some  really  magnificent 
playing,  and  by  way  of  diversion  some  wild 
Belgian  employees  of  the  derelict  sugar-factory 
used  almost  nightly  to  cover  with  insults  a 
notable  "  Chevalier  d'industrie "  whose  thick 
skin  was  amazing. 

Then  one  met  Armenians — who  one  was  told 
had  come  out  of  jail, — and  curio-dealers,  mine 
prospectors,  and  foreign  Generals  of  the  Persian 
army. 

Occasionally  there  was  extra  excitement  when 
an  engagement  or  a  wedding  took  place,  when  the 
parties  usually  adjourned  to  the  hotel,  and  then 
there  was  unlimited  consumption  of  beer, 
nominally  (glycerine  really,  for,  let  me  explain, 
beer  does  not  stand  a  hot  climate  unless  a  large 
percentage  of  glycerine  is  added  to  it),  and  of 
highly-explosive  champagne  and  French  wines. 
Chateau  this  and  Chateau  that — of  Caspian 
origin. 

Being  almost  a  teetotaller  myself,  this  mixed 
crowd — but  not  the  mixed  drink — was  interest- 
ing to  study,  and  what  particularly  struck  me 
was  the  bonhomie^  the  real  good-heartedness,  and 
manly  but  thoughtful,  genial  friendUness  of  men 
towards  one  another,  irrespective  of  class,  posi- 
tion or  condition,  except,  of  course,  in  the  cases  of 
people  with  whom  it  was  not  possible  to  associate. 
The  hard,  mean,  almost  brutal  jealousy,  spite,  the 
petty  rancour  of  the  usual  Anglo-Indian  man,  for 
instance,  does  not  exist  at  all  in  Persia  among 
foreigners  or  English  people.  On  the  contrary, 
it    is  impossible   to  find    more  hospitable,    more 

G   2 


84  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

gentlemanly,  polite,  open-minded  folks  than  the 
Britishers  one  meets  in  Persia. 

Of  course,  it  must  be  remembered,  the  type  of 
Britisher  one  finds  in  Persia  is  a  specially 
talented,  enterprising  and  well-to-do  individual, 
whose  ideas  have  been  greatly  broadened  by  the 
study  of  several  foreign  languages  which,  in 
many  cases,  have  taken  him  on  the  Continent  for 
several  years  in  his  youth.  Furthermore,  lacking 
entirely  the  ruling  "  look  down  upon  the  native  " 
idea,  so  prevalent  in  India,  he  is  thrown  much  in 
contact  with  the  Persians,  adopting  from  them 
the  courteous  manner  and  form  of  speech,  which 
is  certainly  more  pleasant  than  the  absurd  rude- 
ness of  the  "keep-aloof"  notion  which  generally 
makes  us  hated  by  most  Orientals. 

The  Britisher  in  Persia,  with  few  exceptions, 
is  a  charming  person,  simple  and  unaffected,  and 
ready  to  be  of  service  if  he  can.  He  is  not 
aggressive,  and,  in  fact,  surprisingly  suave. 

This  abnormal  feature  in  the  British  character 
is  partly  due  to  the  climate,  hot  but  very 
healthy,  and  to  the  exile  to  which  the  Briton 
has  to  reconcile  himself  for  years  to  come. 
Indeed,  Persia  is  an  exile,  a  painful  one  for  a 
bachelor,  particularly.  Woman's  society,  which 
at  all  times  helps  to  make  life  sweet  and  pleasant, 
is  absolutely  lacking  in  Persia.  European  women 
are  scarce  and  mostly  married  or  about  to  get 
married.  The  native  women  are  kept  in  strict 
seclusion.  One  never  sees  a  native  woman 
except  heavily  veiled  under  her  chudder^  much 
less  can    a    European    talk    to    her.     The    laws 


viri  SOCIAL   SETS  85 

of  Persia  are  so  severe  that  anything  in  the 
shape  of  a  flirtation  with  a  Persian  lady  may  cost 
the  life  of  Juliet  or  Romeo,  or  both,  and  if  life 
is  spared,  blackmail  is  ever  after  levied  by  the 
police  or  by  the  girl's  parents  or  by  servants. 

In  Teheran  all  good  citizens  must  be  indoors 
by  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  any  one  found 
prowling  in  the  streets  after  that  hour  has  to  deal 
with  the  police.  In  the  European  quarter  this 
rule  is  overlooked  in  the  case  of  foreigners,  but 
in  the  native  city  even  Europeans  found  peace- 
fully walking  about  later  than  that  hour  are 
taken  into  custody  and  conveyed  before  the 
magistrate,  who  satisfies  himself  as  to  the  man's 
identity  and  has  him  duly  escorted  home. 

There  are  no  permanent  amusements  of  any 
kind  in  Teheran.  An  occasional  concert  or  a 
dance,  but  no  theatres,  no  music-halls.  There 
is  a  comfortable  Club,  where  people  meet  and 
drink  and  play  cards,  but  that  is  all. 

Social  sets,  of  course,  exist  in  the  Teheran 
foreign  community.  There  are  "  The  Tele- 
graph "  set,  "  the  Bank,"  "  the  Legations." 
There  is  an  uncommon  deal  of  social  etiquette, 
and  people  are  most  particular  regarding  calls, 
dress,  and  the  number  of  cards  left  at  each  door. 
It  looks  somewhat  incongruous  to  see  men 
in  their  black  frock-coats  and  silk  tall  hats, 
prowling  about  the  streets,  with  mud  up  to  their 
knees  if  wet,  or  blinded  with  dust  if  dry,  among 
strings  of  camels,  mules,  or  donkeys.  But  that 
is  the  fashion,  and  people  have  to  abide  by  it. 

There  are  missionaries   in   Teheran,  American 


86  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  ch.  viii 

and  English,  but  fortunately  they  are  not  per- 
mitted to  make  converts.  The  English,  Russian 
and  Belgian  communities  are  the  most  numerous, 
then  the  French,  the  Dutch,  the  Austrian,  the 
Italian,  the  American. 

Taking  things  all  round,  the  Europeans  seem 
reconciled  to  their  position  in  Teheran — a  life 
devoid  of  any  very  great  excitement,  and  par- 
taking rather  of  the  nature  of  vegetation,  yet 
with  a  certain  charm  in  it — they  say — when 
once  people  get  accustomed  to  it.  But  one  has 
to  get   accustomed  to  it  first. 

The  usual  servant  question  is  a  very  serious 
one  in  Teheran,  and  is  one  of  the  chief  troubles 
that  Europeans  have  to  contend  w^ith.  There 
are  Armenian  and  Persian  servants,  and  there  is 
little  to  choose  between  the  two.  Servants 
accustomed  to  European  ways  are  usually  a  bad 
lot,  and  most  unreliable  ;  but  in  all  fairness  it 
must  be  admitted  that,  to  a  great  extent,  these 
servants  have  been  utterly  spoilt  by  Europeans 
themselves,  who  did  not  know  how  to  deal  with 
them  in  a  suitable  manner.  I  repeatedly  noticed 
in  Teheran  and  other  parts  of  Persia  that  people 
who  really  understood  the  Persian  character,  and 
treated  subordinates  with  consideration,  had  most 
excellent  servants — to  my  mind,  the  most  in- 
telligent and  hard-working  in  the  world — and 
spoke  very  highly  of  them. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Teheran — The  seat  of  the  Kajar  family — The  square  of  the 
gun  —  Sanctuaries — The  Top  Meidan  —  Tramways — A 
railway — Opposition  of  the  Mullahs  and  population — De- 
struction of  a  train  —  Mosques — Habitations — Extortion 
and  blackmail — Persian  philosophy. 

A  DESCRIPTION  of  Teheran  is  hardly  neces- 
sary here,  the  city  being  so  well-known,  but 
for  the  help  of  people  unfamiliar  with  its 
character  a  rough  sketch  of  the  place  may  be 
given. 

Teheran,  it  must  be  remembered,  has  only 
been  the  capital  of  Persia  for  the  last  hundred 
years,  when  the  capital  was  removed  from 
Isfahan.  Previous  to  that  it  was  merely  a 
royal  resort  and  nothing  more.  In  shape  it 
was  formerly  almost  circular — ^or,  to  be  strictly 
accurate,  polygonal,  the  periphery  of  the  polygon 
measuring  a  farsakh^  four  miles.  Like  all 
Persian  cities  it  was  enclosed  in  a  mud  wall 
and  a  moat.  Since  then  the  city  has  so 
increased  that  an  extension  has  been  made  to 
an  outer  boundary  some  ten  miles  in  circum- 
ference, and  marked  by  an  uneven  ditch,  the 
excavated  sand  of  which    is   thrown    up  to  form 


88  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

a  sort  of  battlement.  Twelve  gates,  opened  at 
sunrise  and  closed  at  night,  give  access  to  the 
town.  The  citadel,  the  ancient  part  of  the  city, 
contains  the  principal  public  buildings,  the 
private  residences  of  high  officials,  and  the 
Shah's  Palace.  To  the  south  of  this  are  found 
the  extensive  domed  bazaars  and  the  com- 
mercial portion  of  Teheran.  To  the  north  lies 
the  European  quarter  with  the  Legations, 
Banks  and  European  shops. 

We  will  not  go  as  far  back  as  the  Afghan 
invasion  in  1728  when,  according  to  history, 
Teheran  was  looted  and  razed  to  the  ground  by 
the  Afghans,  but  we  will  only  mention  the  fact, 
which  is  more  interesting  to  us,  that  it  was  not 
till  about  1788  that  the  city  was  selected  on 
account  of  its  geographical  position  and  of 
political  necessities,  as  the  seat  of  the  Kajar 
dynasty  by  Agha  Mohammed,  who  in  1796 
became  the  first  King  of  his  family.  The 
Kajar,  as  everybody  knows,  has  remained  the 
reigning  dynasty  of  Persia  to  this  day. 

The  most  interesting  point  of  Teheran,  in 
the  very  centre  of  the  city,  is  the  old  "  Place 
du  Canon,"  where  on  a  high  platform  is  a 
gigantic  piece  of  ordnance  enclosed  by  a  railing. 
In  the  same  square  is  a  large  reservoir  of  more 
or  less  limpid  water,  in  which  at  all  hours  of  the 
day  dozens  of  people  are  to  be  seen  bathing. 
But  the  big  gun  attracts  one's  attention  princi- 
pally. A  curious  custom,  which  is  slowly  being 
done  away  with,  has  made  this  spot  a  sanctuary. 
Whoever  remains  within  touch  or  even  within 


IX  SANCTUARIES  89 

the  shadow  of  the  gun — whether  an  assassin,  a 
thief,  a  bankrupt,  an  incendiary,  a  traitor  or  a 
highwayman, — in  fact,  a  criminal  of  any  kind 
cannot  be  touched  by  the  police  nor  by  persons 
seeking  a  personal  revenge — the  usual  way  of 
settling  differences  in  Persia.  A  number  of 
distinctly  criminal  types  can  always  be  observed 
near  the  gun  and  are  fed  by  relations,  friends, 
or  by  charitable  people.  Persians  of  all  classes 
are  extremely  charitable,  not  so  much  for  the 
sake  of  helping  their  neighbours  in  distress,  as 
for  increasing  their  claims  to  a  seat  in  Paradise, 
according  to  the  Mussulman  religion. 

These  sanctuaries  are  common  in  Persia.  The 
mosques,  the  principal  shrines,  such  as  Meshed, 
Kum,  the  houses  of  Mullahs,  and  in  many 
cases  the  bazaars  which  are  generally  to  be  found 
adjoining  places  of  pilgrimage,  afford  most 
convenient  shelter  to  outlaws.  The  Mullahs 
are  greatly  responsible  for  the  protection  of 
miscreants.  By  exercising  it  they  are  able  to 
show  their  power  over  the  authorities  of  the 
country — a  fact  which  impresses  the  masses. 
That  is  why  in  the  neighbourhood  of  many 
mosques  one  sees  a  great  number  of  ruffianly 
faces,  unmistakable  cut-throats,  men  and  boys 
whose  villainy  is  plainly  stamped  on  their  count- 
enances. As  long  as  they  remain  inside  the 
sacred  precincts — which  they  can  do  if  they  like 
till  they  die  of  old  age — they  can  laugh  at  the 
law  and  at  the  world  at  large.  But  let  them 
come  out,  and  they  are  done  for. 

The  Shah's  stables   are   considered   a  very  safe 


90  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

sanctuary.  Houses  of  Europeans,  or  Europeans 
themselves,  were  formerly  considered  sanc- 
tuaries, but  the  habit  has — fortunately  for  the 
residents — fallen  into  disuse.  I  myself,  when 
driving  one  day  in  the  environs  of  Teheran,  saw 
a  horseman  leading  a  man  whose  neck  was  tied 
to  a  substantial  rope.  Much  to  my  surprise, 
when  near  enough,  the  prisoner  jumped  into  my 
carriage,  and  it  was  only  after  some  persuasion 
on  my  side  and  a  few  pulls  at  the  rope  from  the 
rider  at  the  other  end  that  the  unwelcome 
companion  was  made  to  dismount  again. 

When  in  the  company  of  high  Mullahs  evil 
characters  are  also  inviolable. 

The  largest  square  in  Teheran  is  the  Top 
Meidan  or  "  Cannon  plain,"  where  several  small 
and  antiquated  pieces  of  artillery  are  enclosed  in 
a  fence.  Two  parallel  avenues  with  trees  cross 
the  rectangular  square  at  its  longest  side  from 
north  to  south.  In  the  centre  is  a  large  covered 
reservoir.  The  offices  of  both  the  Persian  and 
Indo-European  Telegraphs  are  in  this  square, 
and  also  the  very  handsome  building  of  the  Bank 
of  Persia. 

The  square  is  quite  imposing  at  first  sight, 
having  on  two  sides  uniform  buildings  with  long 
balconies.  The  lunettes  of  the  archways  under- 
neath have  each  a  picture  of  a  gun,  and  on 
approaching  the  southern  gates  of  the  parallelo- 
gram a  smile  is  provoked  by  the  gigantic  but 
crude,  almost  childish  representations  of  modern 
soldiers  on  glazed  tiles.  To  the  west  is  the 
extensive   drill   ground  for  the    Persian  troops. 


1 


•^^ 


w*. 


Till:    M  IIKIU.KI.K    n\-     .\  \SK-l-,l)-lllN    SlIMI. 


IX  THE  ONLY  RAILWAY  91 

Another  Important  artery  of  Teheran  runs  from 
east  to  west  across  the  same  square. 

One  cannot  but  be  interested  on  perceiving 
along  the  main  thoroughfares  of  Teheran  a  ser- 
vice of  horse  tramways  working  quite  steadily. 
But  the  rolling  stock  is  not  particularly  inviting 
outwardly — much  less  inwardly.  It  is  mostly 
for  the  use  of  natives  and  Armenians,  and  the 
carriages  are  very  dirty.  The  horses,  however, 
are  good.  The  Tramway  Company  in  the  hands 
of  Russian  Jews,  I  believe,  but  managed  by  an 
Englishman  and  various  foreigners — subalterns 
— was  doing  pretty  fair  business,  and  jointly  with 
the  tramways  had  established  a  capital  service  of 
"  Voitures  de  remise,"  which  avoided  all  the 
trouble  and  unpleasantness  of  employing  street 
cabs.  The  carriages,  mostly  victorias,  were 
quite  good  and  clean. 

Among  other  foreign  things,  Teheran  can  also 
boast  of  a  railway — a  mere  steam  tramway,  in 
reality — of  very  narrow  gauge  and  extending  for 
some  six  miles  south  of  the  city  to  the  shrine  of 
Shah  Abdul  Hazim. 

The  construction  of  even  so  short  and  un- 
important a  line  met  with  a  great  deal  of 
opposition,  especially  from  the  priestly  class, 
when  it  was  first  started  in  1886  by  a  Belgian 
company — '*  La  Societe  des  Chemins  de  Fer  et 
des  Tramways  de  Perse."  The  trains  began  to 
run  two  years  later,  in  1888,  and  it  was  believed 
that  the  enormous  crowds  of  pilgrims  who  daily 
visited  the  holy  shrine  would  avail  themselves  of 
the  convenience.      Huge   profits  were   expected. 


92  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

but  unluckily  the  four  or  five  engines  that  were 
imported  at  an  excessive  cost,  and  the  difficulties 
encountered  in  laying  down  the  line,  which  was 
continually  being  torn  up  by  fanatics,  and,  most 
of  all,  the  difficulty  experienced  in  inducing 
pilgrims  to  travel  in  sufficient  numbers  by  the 
line  instead  of  on  horses,  mules  or  donkeys  were 
unexpected  and  insoluble  problems  which  the 
mana(?ers  Jiad  to  face,  and  which  made  the 
shareholders  grumble.  The  expenses  far  ex- 
ceeded the  profits,  and  the  capital  employed  in 
the  construction  of  the  line  was  already  vastly 
larger  than  had  been  anticipated.  One  fine  day, 
furthermore, a  much-envied  and  respected  pilgrim, 
who  had  returned  in  holiness  from  the  famous 
shrine  of  Kerbalah,  was  unhappily  run  over  and 
killed  by  a  train.  The  Mullahs  made  capital  of 
this  accident  and  preached  vengeance  upon 
foreign  importations,  the  work  of  the  devil  and 
distasteful  to  Allah  the  great.  The  railway  was 
mobbed  and  the  engine  and  carriages  became  a 
mass  of  debris. 

There  was  nearly  a  serious  riot  about  this  in 
Teheran  city  ;  the  trains  continued  to  run  with 
the  undamaged  engines,  but  no  one  would  travel 
by  them.  Result .?  "  La  Compagnie  des  Chemins 
de  Per  et  des  Tramways  de  Perse  "  went  bank- 
rupt. The  whole  concern  was  eventually  bought 
up  cheap  by  a  Russian  Company,  and  is  now 
working  again,  as  far  as  regards  the  railway,  in  a 
more  or  less  spasmodic  manner. 

The  tramway  service  connects  the  three 
principal  gates  of  the  outer  wall  of  Teheran  with 


IX  OUTWARD  MODESTY  93 

the  centre  of  the  city  "  the  Place  des  Canons  " 
(Meidan-Top-Khaned) . 

Although  there  are  a  great  many  mosques  in 
Teheran  city  there  is  not  one  of  great  importance 
or  beauty.  The  Mesjid-i-shah,  or  the  Shah's 
Mosque,  is  the  most  noteworthy,  and  has  a  very 
decorative  glazed  tiled  facade.  Then  next  in 
beauty  is  probably  the  mosque  of  the  Shah's 
mother,  but  neither  is  in  any  way  uncommon 
for  size,  or  wealth,  architectural  lines,  or  sacred- 
ness.  Several  mosques  have  colleges  attached  to 
them,  as  is  the  usual  custom  in  Persia.  Access 
to  the  interior  of  the  mosques  is  not  permitted 
to  Europeans  unless  they  have  embraced  the 
Mahommedan  religion. 

Outwardly,  there  are  few  native  houses  in 
Teheran  that  impress  one  with  any  remarkable 
features  of  wealth  or  beauty  ;  in  fact,  they  are 
nearly  all  wretchedly  miserable, — a  plastered 
mud  or  brick  wall  with  a  modest  little  doorway 
being  all  one  sees  from  the  street  of  the  dwel- 
lings of  even  the  richest  and  noblest  of  Persians. 
Inside  matters  are  different.  Frequently  a  miser- 
able little  tumbling-down  gate  gives  access, 
after  going  through  similarly  miserable,  narrow, 
low  passages,  to  magnificent  palaces  and  astound- 
ingly  beautiful  and  luxurious  courts  and  gardens. 
I  asked  what  was  the  reason  of  the  poor  out- 
ward appearance  of  these  otherwise  luxurious 
dwellings.  Was  it  modesty, — was  it  to  deceive 
envious  eyes  .? 

There  are  few  countries  where  blackmail  and 
extortion  are  carried  on  on  a  more  extensive  and 


94  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  ch.  ix 

successful  scale  than  in  Persia  ;  al.l  classes  and 
conditions  of  people  are  exposed  to  the  danger, 
and  it  is  only  by  an  assumed  air  of  poverty  that 
a  certain  amount  of  security  is  obtained.  A 
miserable-looking  house,  it  was  explained  by  a 
Persian,  does  not  attract  the  covetous  eye  of  the 
passer-by  ;  an  unusually  beautiful  one  does. 
"  It  is  a  fatal  mistake,"  he  added,  "  to  let  any- 
body's eye  rest  on  one's  possessions,  whether  he 
be  the  Shah,  a  minister,  or  a  beggar.  He  will 
want  to  rest  his  hands  upon  them  next,  and  then 
everything  is  gone.  Besides,"  he  said,  "  it  is  the 
inside  of  a  house  that  gives  pleasure  and  comfort 
to  the  occupier  and  his  friends.  One  does  not 
build  a  house  to  give  pleasure  and  comfort  to 
the  people  in  the  street.  That  is  only  vainglory 
of  persons  who  wish  to  make  their  neighbours 
jealous  by  outward  show.  They  usually  have  to 
repent  it  sooner  or  later." 

There  was  more  philosophy  than  European 
minds  may  conceive  in  the  Persian's  words — at 
least,  for  Persian  householders. 


CHAPTER   X 

Legations — Germany  a  stumbling-block  to  Russia's  and  Eng- 
land's supremacy — Sir  Arthur  Hardinge,  British  Minister 
in  Teheran — His  talent,  tact,  and  popularity — The  British 
Legation — Summer  quarters — Legation  guards — Removal 
of  furniture. 

As  late  as  1872  there  were  only  four  Legations 
in  Teheran  :  the  English,  French,  Russian  and 
Turkish  ;  but  since  then  the  Governments  of 
Austria,  Belgium,  Holland,  and  the  United 
States  have  established  Legations  in  the  Persian 
capital.  By  the  Persians  themselves  only  four 
are  considered  of  first-class  importance,  viz.  :  the 
British,  Russian,  Turkish  and  Belgian  Legations, 
as  being  more  closely  allied  with  the  interests  of 
the  country.  The  Austrian  Legation  comes 
next  to  these  in  importance,  then  the  German. 

American  interests  are  so  far  almost  a  negli- 
gible quantity  in  Persia,  but  Germany  is 
attempting  to  force  her  trade  into  Persia.  In 
future,  if  she  can  realise  her  railway  schemes  in 
Asia  Minor,  Germany  will  be  a  very  serious 
stumbling-block  to  P'ngland's  and  Russia's 
supremacy,  both  in  North  and  Southern  Persia. 
Germany's  representative    in   Teheran    is  a  man 


96  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

of  considerable  skill  and  untiring  energy.  No 
doubt  that  when  the  opportune  time  comes  and 
Germany  is  ready  to  advance  commercially  in 
the  Persian  market,  England  in  particular  will 
be  the  chief  sufferer,  as  the  British  manufacturer 
has  already  experienced  great  difficulty  in  con- 
tending with  the  cheap  German  goods.  Even 
in  India,  where  transport  is  comparatively  easy, 
German  goods  swamp  the  bazaars  in  preference 
to  English  goods.  Much  more  will  this  be  the 
case  in  Persia  when  the  railway  comes  to  the 
Persian  boundary. 

The  German  Minister  is  certainly  sparing  no 
efforts  to  foster  German  interests  in  Persia,  and 
the  enterprising  Emperor  William  has  shown 
every  possible  attention  to  the  Shah  on  his  visit 
to  Berlin,  in  order  that  the  racial  antipathy, 
which  for  some  reason  or  other  Persians  enter- 
tain towards  Germans,  may  with  all  due  speed 
be  wiped  out. 

To  us  the  British  Legation  is  more  interesting 
at  present.  We  may  well  be  proud  of  our 
present  Minister,  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge,  a  man  of 
whose  like  we  have  few  in  our  diplomatic 
service.  I  do  not  think  that  a  man  more  fit  for 
Persia  than  Sir  Arthur  could  be  found  anywhere 
in  the  British  Empire.  He  possesses  quite 
extraordinary  talent,  with  a  quick  working 
brain,  a  marvellous  aptitude  for  languages — in  a 
few  months'  residence  in  Persia  he  had  mastered 
the  Persian  language,  and  is  able  to  converse  in 
it  fluently — and  is  endowed  with  a  gift  which 
few  Britishers  possess,  refined  tact  and  a  certain 


X  SIR  ARTHUR  HARDINGE  97 

amount  of  thoughtful  consideration  for  other 
people's  feelings. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Sir  Arthur  seems  to  under- 
stand Orientals  thoroughly,  and  Persians  in 
particular.  He  is  extremely  dignified  in  his 
demeanour  towards  the  native  officials,  yet  he  is 
most  affable  and  cheery,  with  a  very  taking, 
charming  manner.  That  goes  a  much  longer 
way  in  Persia  than  the  other  unfortunate  manner 
by  which  many  of  our  officials  think  to  show 
dignity— sheer  stiffness,  rudeness,  bluntness, 
clumsiness — which  offends,  offends  bitterly,  in- 
stead of  impressing. 

A  fluent  and  most  graceful  speaker,  with  a 
strong  touch  of  Oriental  flowery  forms  of  speech 
in  his  compliments  to  officials,  with  an  eye  that 
accurately  gauges  situations — usually  in  Persia 
verv  difficult  ones — a  man  full  of  resource  and 
absolutely  devoid  of  ridiculous  insular  notions — 
a  man  who  studies  hard  and  works  harder  still — 
a  man  with  unbounded  energy  and  an  enthusiast 
in  his  work — a  man  who  knows  his  subject  well, 
although  he  has  been  such  a  short  time  in 
Teheran — this  is  our  British  Minister  at  the 
Shah's  Court. 

Nor  is  this  faint  praise.  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge 
has  done  more  in  a  few  months  to  save  British 
prestige  and  to  safeguard  British  interests  in 
Persia  than  the  public  know,  and  this  he  has 
done  merely  by  his  own  personal  genius  and 
charm,  rather  than  by  instructions  or  help  from 
the  home  Government. 

While  in  Teheran  1  had  much   opportunity  of 

VOL.    I  H 


98  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

meeting  a  great  many  high  Persian  officials,  and 
all  were  unanimous  in  singing  the  praises  of  our 
new  Minister.  Many  of  them  seemed  very 
bitter  against  some  of  his  predecessors,  but 
whether  the  fault  was  in  the  predecessors  them- 
selves or  in  the  home  Government,  it  is  not  for 
me  to  say.  Anyhow,  bygones  are  bygones,  and 
we  must  make  the  best  of  our  present  oppor- 
tunities. The  staff  at  our  Legation  and  Con- 
sulate is  also  first-class. 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  now  that  the  South  African 
war  is  over,  that  the  Government  will  be  able  to 
devote  more  attention  to  the  Persian  Question,  a 
far  more  serious  matter  than  we  imagine  ;  and  as 
extreme  ignorance  prevails  in  this  country 
about  Persia — even  in  circles  where  it  should 
not  exist — it  would  be  well,  when  we  have  such 
excellent  men  as  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge  at  the 
helm,  in  whose  intelligence  we  may  confidently 
and  absolutely  trust,  to  give  him  a  little  more 
assistance  and  freedom  ot  action,  so  as  to  allow 
him  a  chance  of  safeguarding  our  interests 
properly,  and  possibly  of  preventing  further 
disasters. 

It  is  not  easy  for  the  uninitiated  to  realise  the 
value  of  certain  concessions  obtained  for  the 
British  by  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge,  such  as,  for 
instance,  the  new  land  telegraph  line  via  Kerman 
Beluchistan  to  India.  Of  the  petroleum  con- 
cessions, of  which  one  hears  a  great  deal  of  late, 
I  would  prefer  not  to  speak. 

The  Legation  grounds  in  Teheran  itself  are 
extensive  and  beautiful,  with  a  great  many  fine 


X  SUMMER   QUARTERS  99 

trees  and  shady,  cool  avenues.  The  Legation 
house  is  handsomely  furnished,  and  dotted  all 
over  the  gardens  are  the  various  other  buildings 
for  secretaries,  attaches,  and  interpreters.  All 
the  structures  are  of  European  architecture — 
simple,  but  solid.  In  summer,  how^ever,  all  the 
Legations  shift  their  quarters  to  what  is  called  in 
Teheran  "  la  campagne  de  Golahek,  de  Tejerish, 
de  Zargandeh," — by  which  gracefully  mis- 
leading and  misapplied  terms  are  indicated  the 
suburban  residences  of  the  Legations,  at  the 
foot  of  the  arid,  barren,  hot,  dusty  Shamran 
range  of  mountains. 

Golahek,  where  the  British  Legation  is  to  be 
found,  does  actually  boast  of  a  few  green  trees 
in  the  Legation  grounds  ;  and  a  cluster  or  two  of 
nominally  "  green  "  vegetation — really  whitish 
brown — can  be  seen  at  Zargandeh,  where  the 
Russian  and  Belgian  Legations  are  side  by  side, 
and  Tejerish,  where  the  Persian  Foreign  Office 
and  many  Persian  officials  have  their  summer 
residences. 

The  drive  from  Teheran  to  Golahek — seven 
miles  —  is  dusty  beyond  words.  There  are 
wretched-looking  trees  here  and  there  along  the 
road,  so  dried  and  white  with  dust  as  to  excite 
compassion.  Half-way  to  Golahek  the  mono- 
tony of  the  journey  is  broken  by  a  sudden  halt 
at  a  khafe-khana,  into  which  the  coachman 
rushes,  leaving  the  horses  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves, while  he  sips  refreshing  glasses  of  tea. 
When  it  suits  his  convenience  he  returns  to 
splash  buckets  of  water  between  tlic  horses'  legs 

n    2 


loo  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and  under  their  tails.  This,  he  told  me,  in  all 
seriousness,  was  to  prevent  sunstroke  (really,  the 
Persian  can  be  humorous  without  knowing  it), 
and  was  a  preventive  imported  with  civilised 
ways  from  Europe  !  The  ears  and  manes  of  the 
animals  are  then  pulled  violently,  after  which 
the  horses  are  considered  able  to  proceed. 

The  Persian  Government  gives  each  Legation 
a  guard  of  soldiers.  The  British  Legation  is 
guarded  by  infantry  soldiers — an  untidy,  ragged, 
undisciplined  lot,  with  cylindrical  hats  worn  at 
all  angles  on  the  side  of  the  head,  and  with 
uniforms  so  dirty  and  torn  that  it  is  difficult  to 
discern  what  they  should  be  like.  Nearly  all 
other  Legations  are  provided  with  soldiers  of  the 
(Persian)  Cossack  regiment,  who  are  infinitely 
better  drilled  and  clothed  than  the  infantry  regi- 
ments. They  are  quite  military  in  appearance. 
It  was  believed  that  these  Cossacks,  being  drilled 
by  Russian  military  instructors,  would  not  be 
acceptable  at  the  British  Legation,  hence  the 
guard  of  infantry  soldiers. 

The  Russian  Legation  has  two  additional 
Russian  cavalry  soldiers. 

The  country  residences  of  all  the  Legations 
are  quite  comfortable,  pretty  and  unpretentious, 
with  the  usual  complement  of  furniture  of  fold- 
ing pattern,  so  convenient  but  so  inartistic,  and 
a  superabundance  of  cane  chairs.  Really  good 
furniture  being  very  expensive  in  Teheran,  a 
good  deal  of  the  upholstery  of  the  Teheran  Lega- 
tions is  conveyed  to  the  country  residences  for 
the  summer  months.      Perhaps  nothing  is  more 


D 


X  EQUILIBRISTS  loi 

amusing  to  watch  than  one  of  these  removals  to 
or  from  the  country.  Chairs,  tables,  sofas,  and 
most  private  effects  are  tied  to  pack-saddles  on 
ponies,  mules  or  donkeys,  with  bundles  of 
mattrasses,  blankets,  and  linen  piled  anyhow 
upon  them,  while  the  more  brittle  articles  of  the 
household  are  all  amassed  into  a  high  pyramid 
on  a  gigantic  tray  and  balanced  on  a  man's 
head.  Rows  of  these  equilibrists,  with  the  most 
precious  glass  and  crockery  of  the  homestead, 
can  be  noticed  toddling  along  on  the  Golahek 
road,  dodging  carriages  and  cavaliers  in  a  most 
surprising  manner.  They  are  said  never  to 
break  even  the  smallest  and  most  fragile  articles, 
but  such  is  certainly  not  the  case  with  the 
heavily  laden  donkeys  and  mules,  which  often 
collide  or  collapse  altogether,  with  most  disas- 
trous results  to  the  heavier  pieces  of  furniture. 

On  my  arrival  in  Teheran  I  received  a  most 
charming  invitation  to  go  and  stay  at  the  British 
Legation,  but  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  I 
wished  to  remain  in  town  and  so  be  more  in 
touch  with  the  natives  themselves,  partly  because 
I  wished  to  be  unbiassed  in  any  opinion  that  I 
might  form,  I  decided  not  to  accept  anybody's 
hospitality  while  in  Teheran.  This  I  am  very 
glad  I  did,  for  I  feel  I  can  now  express  an 
opinion  which,  whether  right  or  wrong,  is  my 
own,  and  has  not  been  in  any  way  influenced  by 
any  one. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Visits  to  high  Persian  officials — Meftah-es-Sultaneh — Persian 
education — A  college  for  orphans — Uncomfortable  etiquette 
— The  Foreign  Office— H.E.  Mushir-ed-Doulet,  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs — Persian  interest  in  the  Chinese  War  of 
1900 — Reform  necessary. 

Perhaps  the  description  of  one  or  two  visits  to 
high  Persian  officials  may  interest  the  reader. 

Through  the  kindness  of  the  Persian  Legation 
in  London  I  had  received  letters  of  introduction 
which  I  forwarded  to  their  addresses  on  my 
arrival  in  Teheran.  The  first  to  answer,  a  few 
hours  after  I  had  reached  Teheran,  was  Meftah-es- 
Sultaneh  (Davoud),  the  highest  person  in  the 
Foreign  Office  after  the  Minister,  who  in  a  most 
polite  letter  begged  me  to  go  to  tea  with  him 
at  once.  He  had  just  come  to  town  from 
Tejerish,  but  would  leave  again  the  same 
evening. 

Escorted  by  the  messenger,  I  at  once  drove  to 
Meftah's  Palace,  outwardly,  like  other  palaces, 
of  extremely  modest  appearance,  and  entered  by 
a  small  doorway  leading  through  very  narrow 
passages.  Led  by  my  guide,  we  suddenly  passed 
through  a  most  quaint  court,  beautifully  clean 
and  with  a  pretty    fountain    in  the   centre, — but 


I'   L     / 


CH.  XI     THE  YOUNGER  GENERATION        103 

no  time  was  given  me  to  rest  and  admire. 
Again  we  entered  another  dark  passage,  this 
time  to  emerge  into  a  most  beautiful  garden  with 
rare  plants  and  lovely  flowers,  with  a  huge  tank, 
fountains  playing  and  swans  floating  gracefully 
on  the  water.  A  most  beautiful  palace  in 
European  architecture  of  good  taste  faced  the 
garden. 

I  was  admitted  into  a  spacious  drawing-room, 
furnished  in  good  European  style,  where  Meftah- 
es-Sultaneh — a  rotund  and  jovial  gentleman- 
greeted  me  with  effusion.  Although  he  had 
never  been  out  of  Persia,  he  spoke  French, 
with  a  most  perfect  accent,  as  fluently  as  a 
Frenchman. 

What  particularly  struck  me  in  him,  and, 
later,  in  many  other  of  the  younger  generation 
of  the  upper  classes  in  Persia,  was  the  happy 
mixture  of  the  utmost  charm  of  manner  with  a 
keen  business  head,  delightful  tact  and  no  mean 
sense  of  humour.  Meftah-es-Sultaneh,  for  in- 
stance, spoke  most  interestingly  for  over  an  hour, 
and  I  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  what  an 
excellent  foreign  education  students  can  receive 
without  leavin^j  Persia.  It  is  true  that  Meftah 
is  an  exceptionally  clever  man,  who  would  make 
his  mark  anywhere  ;  still  it  was  nevertheless 
remarkable  how  well  informed  he  was  on  matters 
not  concerning  his  country. 

He  comes  from  a  good  stock.  His  father, 
Meftah-el-Mulk,  was  Minister  member  of  the 
Council  of  State,  a  very  wealthy  man,  who 
devoted  much  of  his  time   and    money   to   doiiig 


I04  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

good  to  his  country.  Among  the  many  praise- 
worthy institutions  founded  and  entirely  sup- 
ported by  him  was  the  college  for  orphans,  the 
Dabetsane  Daneshe,  and  the  Eftetahie  School. 
The  colleges  occupy  beautiful  premises,  and  first- 
rate  teachers  are  provided  who  instruct  their 
pupils  in  sensible,  useful  matters.  The  boys  are 
well  fed  and  clothed  and  are  made  quite  happy 
in  every  way. 

Meftah  told  me  that  His  Excellency  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  wished  to  see  me, 
so  it  was  arranged  that  I  should  drive  to  Tejerish 
the  next  morning  to  the  Minister's  country 
residence. 

As  early  as  five  a.m.  the  following  day  I  was 
digging  in  my  trunks  in  search  of  my  frock- 
coat,  the  only  masculine  attire  in  Persia  that  is 
considered  decent,  and  without  which  no  re- 
spectable man  likes  to  be  seen.  Then  for  the 
tall  hat  ;  and  with  the  temperature  no  less  than 
98°  in  the  shade  I  started  in  an  open  victoria  to 
drive  the  nine  miles  or  so  to  the  appointment. 

Not  being  a  Persian  myself,  and  not  quite 
sharing  the  same  ideas  of  propriety,  I  felt  rather 
ridiculous  in  my  get-up,  driving  across  the  sunny, 
dusty  and  barren  country  until  we  reached  the 
hills.  I  had  to  keep  my  feet  under  the  seat  of 
the  carriage,  for  when  the  sun's  rays  (ther- 
mometer above  125°)  struck  my  best  patent- 
leather  shoes,  the  heat  was  well-nigh  in- 
tolerable. 

At  last,  after  going  slowly  up-hill  through 
winding  lanes  enclosed  in   mud   walls,  and  along 


XI  TRIALS  OF  CIVILISED  WAYS  105 

dry  ditches  with  desiccated  trees  on  either  side, 
we  arrived  at  the  Campagne  de  T'ejerish^  and 
pulled  up  in  front  of  a  big  gate,  at  the  residence 
of  the  Minister. 

The  trials  of  the  long  drive  had  been  great. 
With  the  black  frock-coat  white  with  dust,  my 
feet  absolutely  broiled  in  the  patent  shoes,  and 
the  perspiration  streaming  down  my  forehead 
and  cheeks,  I  really  could  not  help  laughing  at 
the  absurdity  of  civilised,  or  semi-civilised 
fashions,  and  at  the  purposeless  suffering  in- 
flicted by  them. 

There  were  a  number  of  soldiers  at  the  gate 
with  clothes  undone — they  were  practical 
people — and  rusty  muskets  resting  idle  on  a 
rack. 

"  Is  Meftah-es-Sultaneh  here  ?  "   I  inquired. 

"  Yes,  he  is  waiting  for  you,"  answered  a 
soldier  as  he  sprang  to  his  feet.  He  hurriedly 
buttoned  up  his  coat  and  hitched  his  belt,  and, 
seizing  a  rifle,  made  a  mihtary  salute  in  the 
most  approved  style. 

An  attendant  led  me  along  a  well-shaded 
avenue  to  the  house,  and  here  I  was  ushered  into 
a  room  where,  round  tables  covered  with  green 
cloth,  sat  a  great  many  oflicials.  All  these  men 
wore  pleated  frock-coats  of  all  tints  and  grada- 
tions of  the  colours  of  the  rainbow.  One  and 
all  rose  and  politely  saluted  me  before  I  sat  down. 

Through  the  passage  one  could  see  another 
room  in  which  a  number  of  other  officials, 
similarly  clad  and  with  bhick  a^trakan  caps, 
were  opening  and  sorting  out  correspondence. 


io6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  hurried  exit  of  all 
present — very  much  like  a  stampede.  Up  the 
avenue  a  stately,  tall  figure,  garbed  in  a  whitish 
frock-coat  over  which  a  long  loose  brown  coat 
was  donned,  walked  slowly  and  ponderously  with 
a  crowd  of  underlings  flitting  around — like 
mosquitoes  round  a  brilliant  light.  It  was 
Mushir-ed-Doulet,  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs.  He  turned  round,  now  to  one,  then  to 
another  official,  smiling  occasionally  and  bowing 
gracefully,  then  glancing  fiercely  at  another  and 
sternly  answering  a  third. 

I  was  rather  impressed  by  the  remarkable 
facility  with  which  he  could  switch  on  extreme 
courteousness  and  severity,  kindliness  and  con- 
tempt. His  face  was  at  no  time,  mind  you, 
subjected  to  very  marked  exaggerated  changes  or 
grimaces,  such  as  those  by  which  we  generally 
expect  emotions  to  show  themselves  among  our- 
selves, but  the  changes  in  his  expression,  though 
slight,  were  quite  distinct  and  so  expressive  that 
there  was  no  mistake  as  to  their  meaning.  A 
soft  look  of  compassion  ;  a  hard  glance  ot 
offended  dignity  ;  the  veiled  eyes  deeply  ab- 
sorbed in  reflection  ;  the  sudden  sparkle  in  them 
at  news  of  success,  were  plainly  visible  on  his 
features,  as  a  clerk  approached  him  bringing  cor- 
respondence, or  asking  his  opinion,  or  reporting 
on  one  matter  or  another. 

A  considerable  amount  of  the  less  important 
business  was  disposed  of  in  this  fashion,  as  the 
Minister  strode  up  the  avenue  to  the  Foreign 
Office  building,  and  more  still  with  two  or  three 


II.    1-^.     MlJ.-:>lllK-KW-h"l    I.KI,     Mllil.^n    ul     l..uii;il    Allans 


1 


XI  THE  MINISTER  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS  107 

of  the  more  important  personages  who  escorted 
him  to  his  tents  some  little  way  from  the 
avenue. 

Meftah-es-Sultaneh,  who  had  disappeared  with 
the  Minister,  hurriedly  returned  and  requested 
me  to  follow  him.  On  a  sofa  under  a  huge  tent, 
sat  Mushir-ed-Doulet,  the  Minister,  who  instantly 
rose  and  greeted  me  effusively  as  I  entered.  He 
asked  me  to  sit  on  his  right  on  the  sofa  while 
Meftah  interpreted.  His  Excellency  only  spoke 
Persian.  Cigarettes,  cigars,  coffee  and  tea  were 
immediately  brought. 

The  Minister  had  a  most  intelligent  head. 
As  can  be  seen  by  the  photograph  here  repro- 
duced, he  might  have  passed  for  a  European. 
He  was  extremely  dignified  and  business-like  in 
his  manner.  His  words  were  few  and  much  to 
the  point. 

Our  interview  was  a  pleasant  one  and  1 
was  able  to  learn  much  of  interest  about  the 
country.  The  Minister  seemed  to  lay  particular 
stress  on  the  friendly  relations  of  Russia  and 
England,  and  took  particular  care  to  avoid 
comments  on  the  more  direct  relations  between 
Persia  and  Russia. 

One  point  in  our  conversation  which  his 
Excellency  seemed  very  anxious  to  clear  up  was, 
what  would  be  the  future  of  China  ?  He 
seemed  keenly  interested  in  learning  whether 
Russia's  or  England's  influence  had  tlie  supremacy 
in  the  Heavenly  Empire,  and  whether  either  of 
these  nations  was  actually  feared  by  the  Chinese. 

"  Will     the    Chinese     ever    be    able     to     fit^ht 


io8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

England  or  Russia  with  success  ?  Were  the 
Chinese  well-armed  during  the  war  of  1900  ? 
If  properly  armed  and  drilled,  what  chances  had 
the  Chinese  army  of  winning  against  the  Allies  ? 
Would  China  be  eventually  absorbed  and  divided 
into  two  or  more  shares  by  European  powers,  or 
would  she  be  maintained  as  an  Empire  ?  " 

Although  the  Minister  did  not  say  so  himself, 
I  could  not  help  suspecting  that  in  his  mind  the 
similarity  and  probably  parallel  futures  of  China 
and  Persia  afforded  ground  for  reflection. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  many  ways  the  two 
countries  resemble  one  another  politically, 
although  Persia,  owing  to  her  more  important 
geographical  position,  may  have  a  first  place  in 
the  race  of  European  greed. 

The  interest  displayed  by  Persians  of  all 
classes  in  the  Chinese  war  of  1900  was  intense, 
and,  curiously  enough,  the  feeling  seemed  to  pre- 
vail that  China  had  actually  won  the  war  because 
the  Allies  had  retreated,  leaving  the  capital  and 
the  country  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese. 

"  More  than  in  our  actual  strength,"  said  a 
Persian  official  once  to  me,  "  our  safety  lies  in 
the  rivalry  of  Great  Britain  and  Russia,  between 
which  we  are  wedged.  Let  those  two  nations 
be  friends  and  we  are  done  for  !  " 

After  my  visit  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  1  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  the  Prime 
Minister,  the  Minister  of  War,  and  the 
Minister  of  Public  Works.  I  found  them  all 
extremely  interesting  and  courteous  and  well  up 
in    their    work.      But    although    talent     is     not 


XI  REORGANISATION  NEEDED  109 

lacking  in  Persia  among  statesmen,  the  country 
itself,  as  it  is  to-day,  does  not  give  these  men  an 
opportunity  of  shining  as  brightly  as  they  might. 
The  whole  country  is  in  such  a  decayed  con- 
dition that  it  needs  a  thorough  overhauling. 
Then  only  it  might  be  converted  into  quite  a 
formidable  country.  It  possesses  all  the  neces- 
sary requirements  to  be  a  first-class  nation. 
Talent  in  exuberance,  physical  strength,  a  con- 
venient geographical  position,  a  good  climate, 
considerable  mineral  and  some  agricultural 
resources,  are  all  to  be  found  in  Persia.  All 
that  is  wanted  at  present  is  the  development  of 
the  country  on  a  solid,  reliable  basis,  instead  ot 
the  insecure,  unsteady  intrigues  upon  which 
business,  whether  political  or  commercial,  is 
unfortunately  carried  on  in  the  present  state  of 
affairs. 

No  one  realises  this  better  than  the  well-to- 
do  Persian,  and  nothing  would  be  more  welcome 
to  him  than  radical  reform  on  the  part  of  the 
Shah,  and  the  establishment  of  the  land  of  Iran 
on  unshakable  foundations.  With  a  national 
debt  so  ridiculously  small  as  Persia  has  at  pres- 
ent, there  is  no  reason  why,  with  less  malad- 
ministration, with  her  industries  pushed,  with 
her  army  reorganised  and  placed  on  a  serviceable 
footing,  she  should  not  rank  as  one  of  the  first 
and  most  powerful  among  Asiatic  independent 
nations. 

We  have  seen  what  young  Japan,  against  all 
odds,  has  been  able  to  accomplish  in  a  few  years. 
All    the    more   should    a    talented    race   like    the 


no  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS         ch.  xi 

Persians,  situated  to  begin  with  in  a  far  less 
remote  position  than  Japan,  and  therefore  more 
favourably  for  the  acquisition  of  foreign  ways, 
be  able  to  emulate,  and  even  in  a  short  time 
surpass,  the  marvellous  success  attained  by  the 
little  Islanders  of  the  Far  East. 

It  is  grit  that  is  at  present  lacking  in  Persia. 
The  country  has  a  wavering  policy  that  is  ex- 
tremely injurious  to  her  interests.  One  cannot 
fail  to  compare  her  to  a  good  old  ship  in  a  dan- 
gerous sea.  The  men  at  her  helm  are  perplexed, 
and  cannot  quite  see  a  clear  way  of  steering. 
The  waves  run  high  and  there  are  plenty  of  reefs 
and  rocks  about,  A  black  gloomy  sky  closes  the 
horizon,  forecasting  an  approaching  cyclone. 
The  ship  is  leaking  on  all  sides,  and  the  masts 
are  unsteady  ;  yet  when  we  look  at  the  number 
of  rocks  and  reefs  and  dangers  which  she  has 
steered  clear  through  already,  we  cannot  fail  to 
have  some  confidence  in  her  captain  and  crew. 
Maybe,  if  she  is  able  to  resist  the  fast-approach- 
ing and  unavoidable  clash  of  the  wind  and  sea 
(figuratively  England  is  the  full-blown  wind, 
Russia  the  sea) — she  may  yet  reach  her  destina- 
tion, swamped  by  the  waves,  dismantled,  but  not 
beyond  repair.  Her  damage,  if  one  looks  at  her 
with  the  eye  of  an  expert,  is  after  all  not  so  great, 
and  with  little  present  trouble  and  expense  she 
will  soon  be  as  good  as  new.  Not,  however, 
if  she  is  left  to  rot  much  longer. 

Such  is  Persia  at  present.  The  time  has  come 
when  she  must  go  back  into  the  shelter  of  a  safe 
harbour,  or  face  the  storm. 


CHAPTER    XII 

The  Persian  army — The  Persian  soldier  as  he  is  and  as  he 
might  be — When  and  how  he  is  drilled — Self-doctoring 
under  difficulties — Misappropriation  of  the  army's  salary — 
Cossack  regiments  drilled  by  Russian  officers — Death  of  the 
Head  Mullah — Tribute  of  the  Jews — The  position  of  Euro- 
peans— A  gas  company — How  it  fulfilled  its  agreement. 

A  PAINFUL  sight  is  the  Persian  army.  With 
the  exception  of  the  good  Cossack  cavalry  regi- 
ment, properly  fed,  dressed,  armed  and  drilled 
by  foreign  instructors  such  as  General  Kossac- 
kowski,  and  Russian  officers,  the  infantry  and 
artillery  are  a  wretched  lot.  There  is  no  excuse 
for  their  being  so  wretched,  because  there  is 
hardly  a  people  in  Asia  who  would  make  better 
soldiers  than  the  Persians  if  they  were  properly 
trained.  The  Persian  is  a  careless,  easy-going 
devil,  who  can  live  on  next  to  nothing  ;  he  is  a 
good  marksman,  a  splendid  walker  and  horseman. 
He  is  fond  of  killing,  and  cares  little  if  he  is 
killed — and  he  is  a  master  at  taking  cover.  These 
are  all  good  qualities  in  a  soldier,  and  if  they 
were  brought  out  and  cultivated  ;  if  the  soldiers 
were  punctually  paid  and  fed  and  clothed  and 
armed,  there  is  no  reason  why  Persia  should  not 
have  as  good  an  army  as  any  other  nation.     The 


112  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

material  is  there  and  Is  unusually  good  ;  it  only 
remains  to  use  it  properly. 

I  was  most  anxious  to  see  the  troops  at  drill, 
and  asked  a  very  high  military  officer  when  I 
might  see  them. 

"  We  do  not  drill  in  summer,"  was  the  reply, 
"  it  is  too  hot  !  " 

"  Do  you  drill  in  winter  ?  " 

"  No,  it  is  too  cold." 

"  Are  the  troops  then  only  drilled  in  the 
autumn  and  spring  ?  " 

"  Sometimes.  They  are  principally  drilled  a 
few  days  before  the  Shah's  birthday,  so  that  they 
may  look  well  on  the  parade  before  his  Majesty." 

"  I  suppose  they  are  also  only  dressed  and  shod 
on  the  Shah's  birthday  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  What  type  and  calibre  rifle  is  used  in  the 
Persian  army  ?  " 

"  Make  it  plural,  as  plural  as  you  can.  They 
have  every  type  under  the  sun.  But,"  added  the 
high  military  officer,  "  we  use  of  course  '  bullet 
rifles '  {Jusi/s  a  balle)  not  '  small  shot  guns '  !  " 

This  '*  highly  technical  explanation "  about 
finished  me  up. 

As  luck  or  ill-luck  would  have  it,  I  had  an 
accident  which  detained  me  some  four  weeks  in 
Teheran.  While  at  the  Resht  hotel,  it  may  be 
remembered  how,  walkinsi-  barefooted  on  the 
matting  of  my  room,  an  invisible  germ  bored  its 
way  into  the  sole  of  my  foot,  and  I  could  not  get 
it  out  again.  One  day,  in  attempting  to  make 
its  life  as  lively  as  the  brute   made  my  foot,    I 


IS 

1 


1^  « 


*^1!^  i    4-^' 


Pkrsian  Soldiers — The  Band. 


*-v^S 


1    i 


k. 


>^-^-^  1 


r  '  -^ 


I\i;(  Ki  IIS  Lkarmm;  Mt'sic. 


XII    EMBEZZLING  THE  SOLDIERS'  PAY     113 

proceeded  to  pour  some  drops  of  concentrated 
carbolic  acid  upon  the  home  of  my  invisible 
tenant.  Unluckily,  in  the  operation  my  arm 
caught  in  the  blankets  of  my  bed,  and  in  the 
jerk  the  whole  contents  of  the  bottle  flowed  out, 
severely  burning  all  my  toes  and  the  lower  and 
upper  part  of  my  foot,  upon  which  the  acid  had 
quickly  dripped  between  the  toes. 

With  the  intense  heat  of  Teheran,  this  became 
a  very  bad  sore,  and  I  was  unable  to  stand  up  for 
several  days.  Some  ten  days  later,  having  gone 
for  a  drive  to  get  a  little  air,  a  carriage  coming 
full  gallop  from  a  side  street  ran  into  mine,  turn- 
ing it  over,  and  I  was  thrown,  injuring  my  leg 
very  badly  again  ;  so  with  all  these  accidents  I 
was  detained  in  Teheran  long  enough  to  witness 
the  Shah's  birthday,  and  with  it,  for  a  few  days 
previous,  the  "  actual  drilling  of  the  troops." 

I  have  heard  it  said,  but  will  not  be  respon- 
sible for  the  statement,  that  the  troops  are  nearer 
their  full  complement  on  such  an  auspicious 
occasion  than  at  any  other  time  of  the  year,  so 
as  to  make  a  "  show  "  before  his  Majesty.  Very 
likely  this  is  true.  When  I  was  in  Teheran  a 
great  commotion  took  place,  which  shows  how 
things  are  occasionally  done  in  the  land  of  Iran. 
The  ex-Minister  of  War,  Kawam-ed-douleh, 
who  had  previously  been  several  times  Governor 
of  Teheran,  was  arrested,  by  order  of  the  Shah, 
for  embezzling  a  half  year's  pay  of  the  whole 
Persian  army.  Soldiers  were  sent  to  his  country 
residence  and  the  old  man,  tied  on  a  white  mule, 
was    dragged    int(j    Teheran.      His    cap    having 

VOL       I  I 


114  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

been  knocked  off — it  is  a  disgrace  to  be  seen  in 
public  without  a  hat — his  relations  asked  that  he 
should  be  given  a  cap,  which  concession  was 
granted,  on  payment  of  several  hundred  tomans.  A 
meal  of  rice  is  said  to  have  cost  the  prisoner  a 
few  more  hundred  tomans,  and  so  much  salt  had 
purposely  been  mixed  with  it  that  the  thirsty 
ex-Minister  had  to  ask  for  copious  libations  of 
water,  each  tumbler  at  hundreds  of  tomans. 

Several  other  high  officials  were  arrested  in 
connection  with  these  army  frauds,  and  would 
probably  have  lost  their  heads,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  special  kindness  of  the  Shah  who  punished 
them  by  heavy  fines,  repayment  of  the  sums 
appropriated,  and  exile.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
in  Persia  that  whether  the  frauds  begin  high  up 
or  lower  down  in  the  scale  of  officials,  the  pay 
often  does  not  reach  the  private  soldier,  and  if  it 
does  is  generally  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

The  food  rations,  too,  if  received  by  the  men 
at  all,  are  most  irregular,  which  compels  the 
soldiers  to  look  out  for  themselves  at  the  expense 
of  the  general  public.  This  is  a  very  great  pity, 
for  with  what  the  Shah  pays  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  army,  he  could  easily,  were  the  money 
not  appropriated  for  other  purposes,  keep  quite 
an  efficient  little  force,  properly  instructed, 
clothed,  and  armed. 

The  drilling  of  the  soldiers,  which  I  witnessed 
just  before  the  Shah's  birthday,  partook  very 
much  of  the  character  of  a  theatrical  perform- 
ance. The  drilling,  which  hardly  ever  lasted 
more  than  a  couple  of  hours  a  day,  was  limited 


XII  SOLDIERS  AT  DRILL  115 

to  teaching  the  soldiers  how  to  keep  time  while 
marching  and  presenting  arms.  The  brass  bands 
^\2.jt&  fortissimo — but  not  benissimo — all  the  time, 
and  various  evolutions  were  gone  through  in  the 
spacious  place  d' amies  before  the  Italian  General, 
in  Persian  employ,  and  a  bevy  of  highly-dressed 
Persian  officers.  There  was  a  great  variety  of 
ragged  uniforms,  and  head-gears,  from  kolah 
caps  to  brass  and  tin  helmets,  and  the  soldiers' 
ages  ranged  from  ten  to  sixty. 

The  soldiers  seemed  very  good-humoured  and 
obedient,  and  certainly,  when  I  saw  them  later 
before  the  Shah  in  their  new  uniforms,  they 
looked  quite  different  and  had  not  the  wretched 
appearance  they  present  in  daily  life. 

But  these  infantry  soldiers  do  not  bear  com- 
parison with  the  Russian-drilled  Persian  Cossacks. 
The  jump  is  enormous,  and  well  shows  what  can 
be  done  with  these  men  if  method  and  discipline 
are  used.  Of  course  perfection  could  not  be 
expected  in  such  a  short  time,  especially  con- 
sidering the  difficulties  and  interference  which 
foreign  officers  have  to  bear  from  the  Persians,  but 
it  is  certainly  to  be  regretted  that  such  excellent 
material  is  now  practically  wasted  and  useless. 

There  were  several  other  excitements  before  I 
left  Teheran.  The  head  Mullah — a  most  im- 
portant person — died,  and  the  whole  population 
of  Teheran  turned  out  to  do  him  honour  when 
his  imposing  funeral  took  place.  Curiously 
enough,  the  entire  male  Jewish  community 
marched  in  the  funeral  procession — an  event 
unprecedented,  I  am  tolii,  in  the  annals  of  Persian 

1    2 


ii6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Mussulman  history.  The  head  Mullah,  a  man 
of  great  wisdom  and  justice,  had,  it  was  said, 
been  very  considerate  towards  the  Jews  and  had 
protected  them  against  persecution  :  hence  this 
mark  of  respect  and  grief  at  his  death. 

The  discovery  of  the  ex-Minister  of  War's 
frauds,  the  death  of  the  head  Mullah,  the  re- 
ported secret  attempts  to  poison  the  Shah,  the 
prospects  of  a  drought,  the  reported  murder  of 
two  Russians  at  Resht,  and  other  minor  sources 
of  discontent,  all  coming  together,  gave  rise  to 
fears  on  the  part  of  Europeans  that  a  revolution 
might  take  place  in  Teheran.  But  such  rumours 
are  so  very  frequent  in  all  Eastern  countries  that 
generally  no  one  attaches  any  importance  to 
them  until  it  is  too  late.  Europeans  are  rather 
tolerated  than  loved  in  Persia,  and  a  walk 
through  the  native  streets  or  bazaars  in  Teheran 
is  quite  sufficient  to  convince  one  of  the  fact. 
Nor  are  the  Persians  to  be  blamed,  for  there  is 
hardly  a  nation  in  Asia  that  has  suffered  more 
often  and  in  a  more  shameful  manner  from 
European  speculators  and  adventurers  than  the 
land  of  Iran. 

Perhaps  the  country  itself,  or  rather  the  people, 
with  their  vainglory  and  empty  pomp,  are 
particularly  adapted  to  be  victimised  by  impostors 
and  are  easy  preys  to  them.  Some  of  the  tricks 
that  have  been  played  upon  them  do  not  lack 
humour.  Take,  for  instance,  the  pretty  farce  of 
the  Compagnie  generate  pour  r  eclair  age  et  le 
chaiiffage  en  Perse ^  which  undertook  to  light  the 
city  of  Teheran  with  no  less  than  one  thousand 


XII  THE  GAS  COMPANY  117 

gas  lights.  Machinery  was  really  imported  at 
great  expense  from  Europe  for  the  manufacture 
of  the  gas — many  of  the  heavier  pieces  of 
machinery  are  still  lying  on  the  roadside  between 
Resht  and  Teheran — extensive  premises  were 
built  in  Teheran  itself,  and  an  elaborate  doorway 
with  a  suitable  inscription  on  it,  is  still  to  be 
seen  ;  but  the  most  important  part  of  all — the 
getting  of  the  coal  from  which  the  gas  was  to  be 
extracted — had  not  been  considered.  The  Lalun 
coal  mines,  which  offered  a  gleam  of  hope  to  the 
shareholders,  were  exploited  and  found  practically 
useless.  The  Company  and  Government  came 
to  loggerheads,  each  accusing  the  other  of  false 
dealing,  and  the  result  was  that  the  Persians 
insisted  on  the  Company  lighting  up  Teheran 
with  the  agreed  1,000  lights.  If  gas  could  not 
be  manufactured,  oil  lights  would  do.  There 
was  the  signed  agreement  and  the  Company 
must  stick  to  it. 

The  Company  willingly  agreed,  but  as  the 
document  did  not  specify  the  site  where  each 
lamp-post  should  be  situated  nearly  all  were 
erected,  at  a  distance  of  only  a  few  feet  from  one 
another — a  regular  forest  of  them — in  the  two 
main  streets  of  the  European  settlement. 

One  single  man  is  employed  alter  dark  to  set 
the  lamps  alight,  and  when  he  has  got  to  the 
end  of  the  two  streets  he  proceeds  on  his  return 
journey  to  blow  them  all  out  again.  By  ten 
o'clock  everything  is  in  perfect   darkness. 

The  Company  now  claim  that  they  have 
fulfilled  their  agreement  ! 


ii8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  Belgian  Company  for  the  manufacture  of 
Beetroot  Sugar  was  another  example  of  how 
speculations  sometimes  go  wrong,  and  no  wonder. 
In  theory  the  venture  seemed  quite  sound,  for 
the  consumption  of  sugar  in  Persia  is  large,  and 
if  it  had  been  possible  to  produce  cheap  sugar  in 
the  country  instead  of  importing  it  from  Russia, 
France  and  India,  huge  profits  would  have  been 
probable  ;  but  here  again  the  same  mistake  was 
made  as  by  the  gas  company.  The  obtaining  of 
the  raw  material  was  neglected. 

The  sugar  refinery  was  built  at  great  cost  in 
this  case,  too,  machinery  was  imported  to 
manufacture  the  three  qualities  of  sugar  most 
favoured  by  the  Persians — loaf  sugar,  crystallised 
sugar,  and  sugar-candy, — but  all  this  was  done 
before  ascertaining  whether  it  was  possible  to 
grow  the  right  quality  of  beetroot  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  make  the  concern  pay.  Theore- 
tically it  was  proved  that  it  would  be  possible 
to  produce  local  sugar  at  a  price  which,  while 
leaving  the  Company  a  huge  profit,  would  easily 
beat  Russian  sugar,  by  which  French  and  Indian 
sugar  have  now  been  almost  altogether  sup- 
planted. 

A  model  farm  was  actually  started  (and  is  still 
in  existence)  near  Shah-Abdul  Azim,  where  beet- 
root was  to  be  grown  in  large  quantities,  the 
experts  declaring  that  the  soil  was  better  suited 
for  the  crop  than  any  to  be  found  in  Europe. 
Somehow  or  other  it  did  not  answer  as  well  as 
expected.  Moreover,  the  question  of  providing 
coal  for  the  engines  proved — as  in  the  case  of  the 


XII  A  DERELICT  ENTERPRISE  119 

Gas  Company — to  be  another  serious  stumbling 
block.  An  attempt  to  overcome  this  difficulty 
by  joining  with  the  Gas  Company  in  working 
the  Lalun  Mines  was  made,  but,  alas  !  proved 
an  expensive  failure. 

Moreover,  further  difficulties  were  encountered 
in  obtaining  the  right  manure  for  the  beetroots, 
in  order  that  the  acids,  which  delay  crystallisa- 
tion, might  be  eliminated ;  and  the  inexperience, 
carelessness  and  reluctance  with  which  the 
natives  took  up  the  new  cultivation — and,  as 
it  did  not  pay,  eventually  declined  to  go  on 
with  it —  render  it  by  no  means  strange  that 
the  sugar  factory,  too,  which  was  to  make  the 
fortunes  of  so  many  became  a  derelict  enterprise. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

Cash  and  wealth — Capital  as  understood  by  Persians — Hidden 
fortunes — Forms  of  extravagance — Unbusiness-like  qualities 
— Foreign  examples — Shaken  confidence  of  natives  in 
foreigners — Greed  for  money — Small  merchants — Illicit 
ways  of  increasing  wealth — The  Persian  a  dreamer — Un- 
punctuality — Time  no  money  and  no  object — Hindrance  to 
reform — Currency — Gold,  silver,  and  copper — Absorption  of 
silver — Drainage  of  silver  into  Transcaspia — Banknotes — 
The  fluctuations  of  the  Kran — How  the  poorer  classes  are 
affected  by  it — Coins  old  and  new — Nickel  coins — The 
Shai  and  its  subdivisions. 

The  Persian  does  not  understand  the  sound 
principles  on  which  alone  extensive  business  can 
be  successful.  Partly  owing  to  prevailing  cir- 
cumstances he  is  under  the  misapprehension  that 
hard  cash  is  synonymous  with  wealth,  and  does 
not  differentiate  between  treasure,  savings,  and 
savings  transformed  into  capital.  This  is  prob- 
ably the  main  cause  of  the  present  anaemic  state 
of  business  in  the  Shah's  Empire.  Thus,  when  we 
are  told  there  is  in  Persia  enormous  "  capital "  to 
be  invested,  we  are  not  correctly  informed.  There 
are  "  enormous  accumulations  of  wealth  "  lying 
idle,  but  there  is  no  "  capital  "  in  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  word.  These  huge  sums  in  hard  cash, 
in  jewellery,  or  bars  of  gold  and  silver,  have  been 


cH.  XIII  DIFFIDENCE  121 

hidden  for  centuries  in  dark  cellars,  and  for  any 
good  they  are  to  the  country  and  commerce  at 
large  might  as  well  not  exist  at  all. 

Partly  owing  to  the  covetousness  of  his  neigh- 
bours, partly  owing  to  a  racial  and  not  unreason- 
able diffidence  of  all  around  him,  and  to  the  fact 
that  an  Asiatic  always  feels  great  satisfaction  in 
the  knowledge  that  he  has  all  his  wealth  within 
his  own  reach  and  protection,  rich  men  of  Persia 
take  particular  care  to  maintain  the  strictest 
secrecy  about  their  possessions,  and  to  conceal 
from  the  view  of  their  neighbours  any  signs  which 
might  lead  them  to  suspect  the  accumulation 
of  any  such  wealth.  We  have  already  seen  how 
even  the  houses  of  the  wealthiest  are  purposely 
made  humble  outwardly  so  as  to  escape  the  notice 
of  rapacious  officials,  and  it  is  indeed  difficult  to 
distinguish  from  the  outside  between  the  house 
of  a  millionaire  and  that  of  a  common  merchant. 

The  Persian,  it  must  be  well  understood,  does 
not  hide  his  accumulated  treasure  from  avaricious 
reasons  ;  on  the  contrary,  his  inclinations  are 
rather  toward  extravagance  than  otherwise,  which 
extravagance  he  can  only  satisfy  under  a  mask 
of  endless  lies  and  subterfuges.  No  honest  ways 
of  employing  his  wealth  in  a  business-like  and 
safe  manner  are  open  to  the  rich  Persian  under 
the  present  public  maladministration,  nor  have 
the  foreign  speculations  in  the  country  offi^red 
sufficient  examples  of  success  to  induce  natives 
to  embark  upon  them  again.  Far  from  it  ;  these 
enterprises  have  even  made  Persians  more  scepti- 
cal and  close  than  before,  and  have  certainly  not 


122  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

shown  foreign   ways   of  transacting   business  at 
the  best. 

That  is  why,  no  other  way  being  open  to  him, 
the  Persian  who  does  wish  to  get  rid  of  his 
weahh,  prefers  to  squander  his  money,  both 
capital  and  income  (the  latter  if  he  possesses 
land),  in  luxurious  jewellery  and  carpets,  and 
in  unhealthy  bribery  and  corruption,  or  in  satis- 
fying caprices  which  his  voluptuous  nature  may 
suggest.  The  result }  The  Persian  is  driven  to 
live  mostly  for  his  vanity  and  frivolity — two 
unbusiness-like  qualities  not  tending  to  the  pro- 
motion of  commercial  enterprise  on  a  large  scale, 
although  it  is  true  that  in  a  small  way  his  fail- 
ings give  rise  and  life  to  certain  industries.  For 
instance,  even  in  remote,  poor  and  small  centres 
where  food  is  scarce  and  the  buildings  humble, 
one  invariably  finds  a  goldsmith,  filigree-workers 
and  embroidery  makers,  whereas  the  necessaries 
of  life  may  be  more  difficult  to  obtain. 

Of  course  Persia  contains  a  comparatively  small 
number  of  Persians  of  a  more  adventurous  nature, 
men  who  have  travelled  abroad  and  have  been 
bitten  with  the  Western  desire  for  speculation  to 
increase  their  money  with  speed,  if  not  always 
w^ith  safety  ;  but  even  these  men  have  mostly 
retired  within  their  shells  since  the  colossal 7^'^jT(5j- 
of  the  speculations  started  in  Persia  by  foreign 
"  company  promoters."  A  considerable  number 
of  Persians,  seduced  by  glowing  prospectuses 
and  misplaced  faith  in  everything  foreign,  were 
dreadfully  taken  in  by  the  novel  experiments — 
everything  novel  attracts  the  Persian  considerably 


XIII  TREASURING  OF  CAPITAL  123 

— and  readily  unearthed  solid  gold  and  silver 
bars,  that  had  lain  for  centuries  in  subterranean 
hiding-places,  and  now  came  out  to  be  con- 
verted into  shares  in  the  various  concerns,  hardly 
worth  the  paper  on  which  they  were  printed, 
but  promising — according  to  the  prospectus — to 
bring  the  happy  possessors  fabulous  incomes. 

We  have  seen  how  the  Sugar  Refinery,  the 
Glass  Factory,  the  "  Gas "  Company — a  more 
appropriate  name  could  not  have  been  given — 
and  the  ill-fated  Mining  Company  have  created 
well-founded  suspicion  of  foreign  ways  of  in- 
creasing one's  capital,  nor  can  we  with  any  fair- 
ness blame  the  Persians  for  returning  to  their  old 
method  of  slow  accumulation.  True  enough,  a 
fortune,  if  discovered,  has  a  fair  possibility  of 
being  seized  in  the  lump  by  a  greedy  official, 
but  that  is  only  a  possibility  ;  whereas,  when 
invested  in  some  foreign  speculations  the  loss 
becomes  a  dead  certainty  !  More  even  than 
the  actual  loss  of  the  money,  the  Persians  who 
burned  their  fingers  by  meddling  with  foreign 
schemes  felt  the  scorn  of  their  friends,  of  whom 
they  had   become   the  laughing  stock. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  to-day  the  confidence 
of  the  natives  towards  foreigners  has  been  very 
much  shaken,  and  excepting  a  few  men  whom 
they  well  know,  trust  and  respect,  they  regard 
most  Europeans  as  adventurers  or  thieves.  The 
"  treasuring  "  of  capital  instead  of  the  investment 
of  it  is,  therefore,  one  of  the  reasons  why  in- 
dustries in  Persia  seldom  assume  large  proportions. 
It  is  only  the  small   merchant,  content  to  make  a 


124  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

humble  profit,  who  can  prosper  in  his  own  small 
way  while  more  extensive  concerns  are  dis- 
trusted. 

But  it  must  not  be  understood  that  Persians  do 
not  care  for  money.  There  is,  on  the  contrary, 
hardly  a  race  of  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
with  whom  the  greed  for  money  is  developed  to 
such  an  abnormal  extent  as  in  all  classes  in  the 
land  of  Iran  !  But,  you  will  ask,  how  can 
money  be  procured  or  increased  fast  and  without 
trouble  in  a  country  where  there  is  no  commercial 
enterprise,  where  labour  is  interfered  with,  where 
capital  cannot  have  a  free  outlet  or  investment  ? 
An  opening  has  to  be  found  in  illicit  ways  of 
procuring  wealth,  and  the  most  common  form 
adopted  is  the  loan  of  money  at  high  interest  on 
ample  security.  As  much  as  50  per  cent.,  80  per 
cent.,  100  per  cent,  and  even  more  is  demanded 
and  obtained  as  interest  on  private  loans,  15  per 
cent,  being  the  very  lowest  and  deemed  most 
reasonable  indeed  !  (This  does  not  apply  to 
foreign  banks.)  All  this  may  seem  strange  in  a 
Mussulman  country,  where  it  is  against  all  the 
laws  of  the  Koran  to  lend  money  at  usury,  and  it 
is  more  strange  still  to  find  that  the  principal 
oflfenders  are  the  Mullahs  themselves,  who  reap 
large  profits  from  such  illegal  financial  opera- 
tions. 

The  Persian  is  a  dreamer  by  nature  ;  he 
cannot  be  said  to  be  absolutely  lazy,  for  he  is 
always  absorbed  in  deep  thought — what  the 
thoughts  are  it  does  not  do  to  analyse  too 
closely — but  he  devotes  so  much  time  to  think- 


XIII  PUNCTUALITY  UNKNOWN  125 

ing  that  he  seldom  can  do  anything  else.  His 
mind — like  the  minds  of  all  people  unaccustomed 
to  hard  work  and  steady,  solidly-built  enterprise 
— runs  to  the  fantastic,  and  he  ever  expects  im- 
mense returns  for  doing  nothing.  The  returns, 
if  any,  and  no  matter  how  large  they  may  be, 
are  ever  too  small  to  satisfy  his  expectations. 

As  for  time,  there  is  no  country  where  it  is 
worth  less  than  to  the  natives  of  Persia.  The 
?7iafiana  of  the  Spaniards  sinks  into  perfect  in- 
significance when  compared  with  the  habits  of 
the  land  of  Iran.  Punctuality  is  unknown — 
especially  in  payments,  for  a  Persian  must  take 
time  to  reflect  over  everything.  He  cannot  be 
hurried.  A  three  months'  limit  of  credit— or 
even  six  months — seems  outrageously  short  in 
the  eyes  of  Persians.  Twelve  months  and  eigh- 
teen, twenty,  or  twenty-four  months  suit  him 
better,  but  even  then  he  is  never  ready  to  pay, 
unless  under  great  pressure.  He  does  disburse 
the  money  in  the  end,  capital  and  interest,  but 
why  people  should  worry  over  time,  and  why 
it  should  matter  whether  payment  occurs  to-day 
or  to-morrow  are  quite  beyond  him. 

If  he  does  transact  business,  days  are  wasted  in 
useless  talk  and  compliments  before  the  subject 
with  which  he  intends  to  deal  is  incidentally 
approached  in  conversation,  and  then  more  hours 
and  days  and  weeks,  even  months  have  to  elapse 
before  he  can  make  up  his  mind  what  to  do. 
Our  haste,  and  what  we  consider  smartness  in 
business,  are  looked  upon  by  the  Persian  as  quite 
an  acute  form  of  lunacy, — aiul    really,    when   one 


126  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS 


CHAP. 


is  thrown  much  in  contact  with  such  delightful 
placidity,  almost  torpor,  and  looks  back  upon  one's 
hard  race  for  a  living  and  one's  struggle  and 
competition  in  every  department,  one  almost 
begins  to  fancy  that  we  are  lunatics  after  all  ! 

The  Persian  must  have  his  hours  for  praying, 
his  hours  for  ablutions,  more  hours  for  medita- 
tion, and  the  rest  for  sleep  and  food.  Whether 
you  hasten  or  not,  he  thinks,  you  will  only  live 
the  number  of  years  that  God  wills  for  you,  and 
you  will  live  those  years  in  the  way  that  He  has 
destined  for  you.  Each  day  will  be  no  longer  and 
no  shortei,  your  life  no  sadder  and  no  happier. 
Why  then  hurry  ? 

Amid  such  philosophic  views,  business  in 
European  fashion  does  not  promise  to  prosper. 

Unable  to  attach  a  true  meaning  to  words — 
his  language  is  beautiful  but  its  flowery  form 
conduces  to  endless  misunderstandings — casual 
to  a  degree  in  fulfilling  work  as  he  has  stipulated 
to  do  it  ;  such  is  the  Persian  of  to-day.  Whether 
the  vicissitudes  of  his  country,  the  fearful  wars, 
the  famines,  the  climate,  the  official  oppression 
have  made  him  so,  or  whether  he  has  always 
been  so,  is  not  easy  to  tell,  but  that  is  how  he 
is  now. 

Besides  all  this,  each  man  is  endowed  with  a 
maximum  of  ambition  and  conceit,  each  indi- 
vidual fully  believing  himself  the  greatest  man 
that  ever  lived  and  absolute  perfection.  More- 
over the  influence  of  Mullahs  is  used  to  oppose 
reform  and  improvement,  so  that  altogether 
the  economic  development  of  production,  distri- 


c 


XIII  GOLD   AND   SILVER  127 

bution  and  circulation  of  capital  is  bound  to  be 
hampered  to  no  mean  extent.  On  examining 
things  carefully  it  seems  almost  astonishing  that 
the  trade  of  Persia  should  be  as  well  developed 
as  it  is. 

Another  difficulty  in  the  way  is  the  currency, 
which  offers  some  interesting  lessons,  and  I  am 
indebted  to  the  author  of  a  paper  read  before 
the  Statistical  Society  for  the  following  details. 

Gold  is  not  produced  in  Persia.  Bar  gold  is 
imported  in  very  small  quantities  only.  Gold 
coin  is  a  mere  commodity — is  quite  scarce,  and 
is  mostly  used  for  presents  and  hoarding.  It  is 
minted  principally  from  Russian  Imperials  and 
Turkish  pounds  which  drift  into  Persia  in  small 
quantities  in  the  course  of  business.  Goldsmiths, 
too,  in  their  work,  make  use  of  foreign  coins, 
although  some  gold  and  silver  bullion  is  imported 
for  manufacturing  purposes. 

Silver,  too,  is  not  obtainable  in  Persia  except 
in  very  small  quantities,  and  the  imported  silver 
comes  from  Great  Britain,  via  the  Gulf  or  via 
Hamburg  and  Russia.  In  the  year  1901  the 
Persian  Government,  in  connection  with  the 
Russian  Loan,  imported  some  three  million 
tomans'  worth  of  silver  to  be  minted,  and  the 
Imperial  Bank  of  Persia  another  million  tomans; 
while  some  500,000  tomans  more  were  brought 
into  the  country  by  other  importers.  But  under 
normal  circumstances  the  annual  output  hardly 
ever  exceeds  three  to  four  million  tomans.  In 
1900  it  was  something  between  2,000,000  and 
2,500,000  tomans. 


128  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  Mint — like  all  other  institutions  of  Persia 
— is  in  a  tumbling-down  condition,  with  an 
ancient  plant  (1877)  ^°  obsolete  and  worn  as  to 
be  almost  useless.  Partly  owing  to  the  insuffi- 
cient production  of  coin,  partly  because  of  the 
export  in  great  quantities  of  Persian  silver 
coin  into  Transcaspia,  and,  last  but  not  least, 
owing  to  the  Persian  custom  of  "  making  a 
corner  "  by  speculators,  the  commercial  centres 
of  Persia  suffer  from  a  normal  dearth  of  silver 
coins.  Persian  silver  coin  has  for  the  foregoing 
reasons  a  purchasing  power  of  sometimes  20  per 
cent,  beyond  its  intrinsic  value.  In  distant  cities, 
like  Yezd  or  Kerman,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain 
large  sums  in  silver  coin  at  face  value,  as  it 
disappears  into  the  villages  almost  as  soon  as  it 
arrives  by  caravan  or  post.  New  coin  is  gener- 
ally in  great  demand  and  commands  a  premium. 

So  the  yearly  drain  of  silver  coin  from  Teheran 
as  soon  as  it  is  minted  is  very  considerable, 
especially  to  the  north,  north-east  and  north- 
west provinces.  This  coin  does  not  circulate 
but  is  almost  entirely  absorbed  and  never  re- 
appears, the  people  themselves  holding  it,  as  we 
have  seen,  as  treasure,  and  huge  quantities  find- 
ing their  way  into  Transcaspia  and  eventually 
into  Afghanistan,  where  Persian  coin  is  current 
and  at  a  premium,  especially  on  the  border  land. 

In  Transcaspia  Persian  coin  is  cherished  be- 
cause the  nominally  equivalent  Persian  coin 
contains  a  much  larger  quantity  of  silver  than 
the  Russian.  Russian  silver  is  a  mere  token  of 
currency,  or,  at  best,  stands  midway  between  a 


XIII  WHERE  SILVER  GOES  129 

token  and  a  standard  or  international  currency, 
and  its  ditference  when  compared  with  the 
Persian  coin  amounts  to  no  less  than  21  "92  per 
cent  in  favour  of  the  Persian.  Persian  coin, 
although  defective  and  about  2  per  cent  below 
legal  weight  and  fineness,  is  a  standard  or  inter- 
national currency. 

It  appears  that  a  good  deal  of  the  silver  ex- 
ported into  Transcaspia  finds  its  way  to  Chinese 
Turkestan,  where  it  is  converted  into  bars  and 
ingots,  and  is  used  for  the  inland  trade  to  China. 
The  Russian  Government  have  done  all  in  their 
power  to  prevent  the  competition  of  Persian  and 
Russian  coins  in  their  Transcaspian  provinces. 
A  decree  was  issued  some  eleven  years  ago 
forbidding  the  importation,  and  in  1897  ^ 
second  Ukase  further  prohibited  foreign  silver 
from  entering  the  country  after  the  13th  of  May 
(ist  of  May  of  our  calendar),  and  a  duty  of 
about  20  per  cent  was  imposed  on  silver  crossing 
the  frontier.  All  this  has  resulted  in  silver 
entering  the  provinces  by  smuggling  instead  of 
openly,  but  it  finds  its  way  there  in  large  quanti- 
ties just  the  same  as  before. 

The  Government  of  Persia  does  not  issue 
bank-notes,  which  would  be  regarded  with 
suspicion  among  the  people,  but  it  is  interesting 
to  find  that  the  monopoly  granted  to  the 
Imperial  Bank  of  Persia  for  the  issue  of  paper 
money  has  had  excellent  results,  in  Teheran 
particularly,  where  the  Bank  is  held  in  high 
esteem  and  the  notes  have  been  highly  appre- 
ciated.    In  other  cities  of  Persia  wliich  1  visited, 

VOL.    I  K. 


I30  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

however,  the  notes  did  not  circulate,  and  were 
only  accepted  at  the  Bank's  agencies  and  in  the 
bazaar  by  some  of  the  larger  merchants  at  a 
small    discount. 

Naturally,  with  the  methods  adopted  by 
Persians,  and  the  insecurity  which  prevails 
everywhere,  the  process  of  convincing  the 
natives  that  a  piece  of  printed  paper  is  equiva- 
lent to  so  many  silver  krans,  and  that  the  silver 
krans  will  surely  be  produced  in  full  on  demand 
is  rather  a  slow  one  ;  but  the  credit  of  the 
Imperial  Bank  and  the  popular  personality 
of  Mr.  Rabino,  the  manager,  have  done  much 
towards  dispelling  the  suspicions,  and  since  1890 
the  notes  have  assumed  a  considerable  place  in 
the  circulation.  In  September  1890  the  circula- 
lation  of  them  amounted  to  29,000  tomans  ;  in 
1895  it  had  gradually  increased  to  254,000 
tomans,  and  by  leaps  and  bounds  had  reached  the 
sum  of  1,058,000  in  1900.1  It  is  rather  curious 
to  note  that  in  the  previous  year,  1899,  the  note 
circulation  was  589,000  tomans,  and  became  very 
nearly  double  in  the  following  twelve  months. 

This  only  applies  to  Teheran  and  the  principal 
cities  ;  in  the  villages,  and  in  out-of-the-way 
towns,  notes  are  out  of  the  question,  and  even 
silver  coins  are  very  scarce.  A  two-kran  piece 
of  the  newer  type  is  seldom  found,  and  only  one- 
kran  pieces,  little  irregular  lumps  of  silver,  are 
occasionally  to  be  seen.  Copper  is  really  the 
currency  and  is  a  mere  subsidiary  or  token 
coinage  with  a  value  fluctuating  according  to 
^  I  understand  this  figure  has  since  considerably  increased. 


XIII  WHAT  A  SHAI  IS  WORTH  131 

local  dearth  or  other  causes  at  almost  every  place 
one  goes  to. 

The  precarious  system  of  farming,  accompanied 
by  the  corruption  of  officials,  has  given  an  op- 
portunity for  most  frequent  and  flagrant  abuses 
in  the  excessive  over-issue  of  copper  coin,  so  that 
in  many  cities  copper  issued  at  the  nominal  value 
of  20  shais  per  kran  was  current  at  30,  40,  50, 
and  even,  in  Eastern  Persia,  at  80  shais  per  kran. 
I  myself,  on  travelling  through  Persia,  never 
knew  exactly  what  a  kran  was  worth,  as  in 
almost  every  province  I  received  a  different 
exchange  of  shais  for  my  krans.  In  Birjand 
and  Sistan,  particularly,  the  exchange  differed 
very  considerably. 

This  state  of  maladministration  affects  the 
poorer  classes,  for  the  copper  currency  forms 
their  entire  tortune.  On  coming  to  the  throne 
the  present  Shah,  with  praiseworthy  thoughtful- 
ness,  endeavoured  to  put  a  stop  to  this  cause  of 
misery  in  his  people,  and  ordered  the  Government 
to  withdraw  some  720,000  tomans'  worth  of 
copper  coins  at  25  to  30  shais  per  kran.  This 
had  a  good  effect,  and  although  much  of  the 
depreciated  coin  is  still  in  circulation,  particularly 
in  out-of-the-way  places,  its  circulation  in  the 
larger  towns  has  been  considerably  diminislied. 

Lately  the  Government  has  adopted  the 
measure  of  supplying  the  public  with  nickel 
coins,  one-shai  and  two-shai  pieces,  which, 
although  looked  at  askance  at  first,  are  now 
found  very  handy  by  the  natives  and  circulate 
freely,  principally  in  Resht,  Kasvin,  Teheran  and 

K    2 


132  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Isfahan.  In  other  cities  I  did  not  see  any,  nor 
would  the  natives  accept  mine  in  payment,  and 
in  villages  no  one  would  have  anything  to  do 
with  them  as  they  were  absolutely  unknown. 
But  wherever  it  has  been  possible  to  commence 
the  circulation  of  these  nickel  coins — which 
were  struck  at  the  Brussels  Mint  and  which  are 
quite  pretty — they  have  been  accepted  with 
great  pleasure. 

The  old  gold  coins  in  circulation  in  Persia — 
very  few  and  far  apart — were  the  toman,  half- 
toman,  and  two-kran  piece.  The  gold  had  a 
legal  fineness  of  990.  The  legal  weight  in  grains 
troy  was  :  toman,  53*28  ;  half-toman,  26*64  5 
two-kran  piece,  10*656.  Weight  in  pure  gold  ; 
toman,  51-7572;  half-toman,  26*3736;  two- 
kran  piece,  10*54944. 

The  new  coins  are  the  two-tomans,  one-toman 
(differentiated  in  1879  and  subsequent  to  1879), 
half-toman  and  two-kran  pieces,  the  gold  having 
a  legal  fineness  of  900.     Legal  weight  : — 

One  toman. 


Two  1870      Sul'sequent      Half  Two  kran 

tomans.  '"-         to  1879.     toman.  piece. 

Grains  troy    ....     100-64  SO'S^         44'4o         22-20  S'BS 

Weight  in  pure  gold    .       90576  45-288       39-96         iQ'qS  7"992 

The  new  silver  coinage  consists  of  2-kran 
pieces  (five  of  which  make  a  toman),  one-kran, 
half-kran,  and  quarter-kran,  all  keeping  to  the 
legal  fineness  of  900  as  in  the  older  coins  struck 
from  1857  ^°  1878  : — 


Two 

One 

Half 

Quarter 

Legal  weight  (grains  troy)  . 
Weight  in  grains  silver  .     . 

krans. 
142-08 
127-872 

kran. 

71-04 

63-936 

kran. 
30-52 
27-468 

kran. 
15-26 
13734 

XIII  COPPER   COINS  133 

The  1857  to  1878  coins  were  merely  one- 
kran,  half-kran,  quarter-kran  : — 

One  kran.  Ilalfkran.       Quarter  kran. 

Legal  weight j&gG  38" 48  i9'24 

Weight  in  pure  silver      .     .        Sg'iS^.  34'632  I7'3i6 

The  older  coinage  before  1857,  ^  most  ir- 
regular coin — of  one  kran — varied  considerably 
and  had  an  approximate  average  fineness  of  855, 
an  average  weight  (grains  troy)  of  75*88,  and  a 
weight  in  pure  silver  of  grains  troy  64*877,  which 
is  below  the  correct  standard  by  no  less  than  6*76 
per  cent. 

In  the  newest  coinage  of  two-kran  pieces,  the 
coin  most  used  in  cities, — large  payments  being 
always  made  in  two-kran  pieces — we  have  an 
average  fineness  of  892*166  ;  average  weight, 
grains  troy,  i  9*771  ;  weight  in  pure  silver, 
grains  troy,  124*69,  or  2*55  per  cent,  below  the 
standard. 

In  nickel  coinage,  composed  of  25  per  cent,  or 
nickel  and  j^  per  cent,  of  copper,  we  have  : — 

Two  shai  pieces  (grains  troy)     ....     69"45 
One  shai  pieces  (grains  troy)     ....     46"30 

The  copper  coins  are  in  great  variety.  There 
is  the  abassi  (one-fifth  of  a  kran)  worth  four 
shais,  and  very  scarce  now. 

The  sadnar  (one-tenth  of  a  kran)  equivalent  to 
two  shais. 

The  (one)  shai  (one-twentieth  of  a  kran). 

T\\& pul  (one-fortieth  of  a  kran),  half  a  shai. 

And  the  jendek  (one-eightieth  of  a  kran)  a 
quarter  shai  ;  this  coin  only  found  in  circulation 
in  Khorassan. 


134  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS       ch.  xiii 

When  it  is  remembered  that  at  the  present 
rate  of  exchange  the  kran  can  be  reckoned  at 
fivepence  in  EngHsh  money,  and  the  toman 
as  roughly  equivalent  to  one  American  dollar,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  subdivisions  of  the  kran 
are  rather  minute  for  the  average  European 
mind. 

Yet  there  are  things  that  one  can  buy  even  for 
a  jendek  ;  think  of  it, — the  fourth  part  of  a 
farthing  !     But  that  is  only  in   Khorassan. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

The  Banks  of  Persia — The  Imperial  Bank  of  Persia — The 
most  revered  foreigner  in  Persia — Loans — The  road  con- 
cession— The  action  of  the  Stock  Exchange  injurious  to 
British  interests — Securities — Brains  and  not  capital — Risks 
of  importing  capital — An  ideal  banking  situation — Hoard- 
ing—  Defective  communication — The  key  to  profitable 
banking  in  Persia — How  the  exchange  is  affected — Coins 
— Free  trade — The  Russian  Bank  and  Mr.  De  Witte — 
Mr.  Grube  an  able  Manager — Healthy  competition — 
Support  of  the  Russian  Government. 

The  Banks  of  Persia  can  be  divided  into  three 
classes.  One,  containing  the  smaller  native 
bankers,  w^ho  often  combine  the  jeweller's  busi- 
ness with  that  of  the  money  changer  ;  the  larger 
and  purely  native  banking  businesses,  and  then 
the  foreign  banks,  such  as  the  Imperial  Bank  of 
Persia  (English  Bank),  the  Banque  d'Escompte 
et  de  Prets  (Russian  Bank)  and  the  Agency  of 
the  Banque  Internationale  de  Commerce  de 
Moscow  (Banque  Poliakoff).  There  are  other 
foreign  firms  too,  such  as  Ziegler  and  Co.,  Hotz, 
the  Persian  Gulf  Trading  Co.,  etc.,  which 
transact  banking  to  a  limited  extent  besides 
their  usual  and  principal  trading  business  ;  but 
these  are  not  banks  proper. 

The  Imperial   Bank  of  Persia,  being  a  purely 


136  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

British  enterprise,  is  the  most  interesting  to  us.  Its 
main  offices  are  in  a  most  impressive  building  in 
the  principal  square  of  Teheran,  and  it  has  branch 
offices  at  Tabriz,  Isfahan,  Meshed,  Yezd,  Shiraz, 
in  the  Teheran  Bazaar,  at  Bushire  and  Ker- 
manshah.  It  would  be  useless  to  go  into  the 
various  vicissitudes  through  which  the  Bank  has 
passed  since  it  was  first  started,  and  the  difficul- 
ties which  it  encountered  in  meeting  the  unusual 
ways  of  doing  business  of  Persians  and  satisfying 
the  desires  of  directors  and  shareholders  in  simple 
London  town.  One  thing  is,  nevertheless,  cer- 
tain, and  that  is  that  if  the  Imperial  Bank  of 
Persia  maintains  the  prestige  now  belonging 
to  it,  it  owes  this  to  Mr.  Rabino,  of  Egyptian 
fame,  the  Manager  of  the  Bank, — without  ex- 
ception the  most  revered  foreigner  in  Persia. 

I  will  not  touch  on  the  sore  question  of  the 
Persian  loans,  eventually  secured  by  Russia,  but, 
curiously  enough,  the  capital  of  the  first  loan,  at 
least,  was  in  great  measure  practically  transferred 
from  Russia  to  Persia  by  the  Imperial  Bank, 
which  had  the  greatest  stock  of  money  in 
Teheran  ;  nor  shall  I  go  into  the  successful  and 
unsuccessful  ventures  of  the  Bank,  such  as  the 
Road  Concession,  and  the  Mining  Corporation. 
As  to  the  road  concession,  it  is  beyond  doubt  that 
had  the  Bank  not  become  alarmed,  and  had 
they  held  on  a  little  longer,  the  venture  might 
have  eventually  paid,  and  paid  well.  But 
naturally,  in  a  slow  country  like  Persia,  nothing 
can  be  a  financial  success  unless  it  is  given  time 
to  develop  properly. 


XIV  INDISPUTABLE   FACTS  137 

With  regard  to  its  relation  with  the  Banque 
d'Escompte  et  de  Prets,  the  Russian  Bank — 
beHeved  by  some  to  be  a  dangerous  rival — 
matters  may  to  my  mind  be  seen  in  two  aspects. 
I  believe  that  the  Russian  Bank,  far  from  damag- 
ing the  Imperial  Bank,  has  really  been  a  godsend 
to  it,  as  it  has  relieved  it  by  sharing  advances  to 
the  Government  which  in  time  mis^ht  have 
proved  somewhat  of  a  burden  on  one  establish- 
ment. It  is  a  mistake,  too,  to  believe  that  in  a 
country  like  Persia  there  is  not  room  for  two 
lar2:e  concerns  like  the  two  above-mentioned 
Banks,  and  that  one  or  the  other  is  bound 
to  go. 

The  rumoured  enormous  successes  of  the 
Russian  Bank  and  its  really  fast-increasing 
prestige  are  indisputable,  but  the  secret  of  these 
things  is  well  known  to  the  local  management 
of  the  Imperial  Bank,  which  could  easily  follow 
suit  and  quickly  surpass  the  Russians  if  more 
official  and  political  support  were  forthcoming. 

The  action  of  the  London  Stock  Exchange  in 
depreciating  everything  Persian,  for  the  sake  of 
reprisal,  is  also  injurious  to  the  Bank,  and  more 
so  to  the  prestige  of  this  country,  though  we  do 
not  seem  to  see  that  our  attitude  has  done  much 
more  harm  to  ourselves  than  to  the  Persians.  It 
is  true  that  Persia  is  a  maladministered  country, 
that  there  is  corruption,  that  there  is  intrigue, 
and  so  forth,  but  is  there  any  other  country, 
may  I  ask,  where  to  a  greater  or  smaller  extent 
the  same  accusation  could  not  be  nicide  ?  Nor 
can  we   get   away    from   the  fact   that    although 


ijS  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Persia  has  been  discredited  on  the  London  market 
it  is  one  of  the  few  countries  in  which  the  national 
debt  is  extremely  small  and  can  easily  be  met. 

The  obligations  of  the  Imperial  Government 
and  of  Muzatfer-ed-din  Shah's  signature,  have 
never  failed  to  be  met,  nor  has  the  payment  of 
full  interest  on  mortgages  contracted  ever  been 
withheld.  Delays  may  have  occurred,  but  every- 
thing has  come  right  in  the  end.  Our  absurd 
attitude  towards  the  Persians,  when  we  are  at 
the  same  time  ready  to  back  up  enterprises 
that  certainly  do  not  afford  one-tenth  of  the 
security  to  be  found  in  Persia,  is  therefore  rather 
difficult  to  understand. 

There  are  few  countries  in  which  so  much 
can  be  done  with  a  comparatively  small  outlay 
as  in  Persia.  It  is  not  enterprises  on  a  gigantic 
scale,  nor  millions  of  pounds  sterling  that  are 
needed  ;  moderate  sums  handled  with  judgment, 
knowledge  and  patient  perseverance,  would  pro- 
duce unlooked-for  results.  Large  imported  sums 
of  capital  in  hard  cash  are  not  wanted  and  would 
involve  considerable  risk.  First  of  all,  stands 
the  danger  of  the  depreciation  of  capital  by  the 
fall  in  silver  and  the  gradual  rise  in  exchange 
due  to  the  excess  of  imports  over  exports. 
Then  comes  the  narrowness  of  the  Persian 
markets  which  renders  the  return  of  large  sums 
in  cash  an  extremely  long  and  difficult  operation  ; 
and  last  but  not  least,  the  serious  fact  that  capital 
is  generally  imported  at  a  loss,  inasmuch  as  the 
intrinsic  value  of  the  kran  is  much  below  its 
exchange  value. 


XIV  AN    IDEAL   SITUATION  139 

The  ideal  situation  of  an  English  Bank  trading 
with  the  East,^  is  when  its  capital  remains  in 
gold,  whilst  its  operations  are  conducted  in  silver 
by  means  of  its  deposits.  This,  because  of  the 
instability  in  the  price  of  silver  as  compared  with 
that  of  gold,  and  the  risks  which  follow  upon 
holding  a  metal  fluctuating  in  value  almost  daily. 
The  situation  in  Persia,  partly  owing  to  the 
constant  appreciation  of  the  Persian  currency, 
due  to  the  great  dearth  of  silver  produced  by 
hoarding  as  well  as  by  the  export  of  coin  to 
Central  Asia,  is  quite  suitable  to  the  system  of 
banking  indicated  above. 

The  difference  between  the  intrinsic  and  the 
exchange  value  of  the  kran,  notwithstanding  the 
constant  demand  for  exchange,  is  quite  worthy 
of  note.  Political  preoccupation  is  the  principal 
cause  of  the  hoarding  system  in  Government 
circles,  and  in  the  masses  the  absence  of  banking 
organisations  in  which  the  natives  have  sufficient 
confidence  to  deposit  their  savings.  Slowly  but 
surely  the  Persian  is  beginning  to  feel  the  good 
effects  of  depositing  his  money  in  a  European- 
managed  Bank  offering  sound  guarantees,  and  it 
is  certain  that  in  time  all  the  money  required  for 
trade  purposes  will  be  found  in  Persia  itself 

When  better  communication  between  the 
various  commercial  centres  has  been  established, 
the  distribution  of  the  funds  as  required,  now  a 
matter  of  great  difficulty  and  risk,  will  be  greatly 
facihtated.  When  the  despatching  of  sums  from 
one  city  to  another  instead  of  taking  minutes  by 
^  See  Institute  of  Bankers, 


I40  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

telegraph  or  hours  by  post  occupy,  under  normal 
circumstances,  days,  weeks,  a  month  or  even 
more,  because  the  payments  are  made  in  solid 
silver  which  has  to  travel  by  caravan,  it  is  easy 
to  understand  how  the  dangerous  system  of 
hoarding  comes  to  be  practised  with  impunity 
and  facility  all  over  Persia. 

Of  course  every  precaution  is  taken  to  foresee 
abnormal  scarcity  of  funds,  by  sending  specie  to 
the  places  threatened,  in  order  to  help  trade. 
During  the  summer  months,  for  instance,  most 
of  the  floating  capital  is  absorbed  in  the  prov- 
inces by  the  opium  crop  in  the  Yezd  and  Isfahan 
markets,  when  the  silver  krans  find  their  way  en 
masse  to  the  villages,  much  to  the  inconvenience 
of  the  two  cities.  In  the  autumn  a  similar 
occurrence  hampers  trade  during  the  export 
season  of  dried  fruit  and  silk  from  Azerbaijan 
and  Ghilan,  the  exchange  falling  very  low 
owing  to  scarcity  of  money. 

A  very  important  item  in  the  Bank's  tran- 
sactions in  Persia  is  the  constant  demand  for 
remittances  of  revenue  to  Teheran  for  Govern- 
ment purposes,  such  as  payments  for  the  army, 
officials,  etc.,  and  these  remittances  amount  to 
very  large  sums. 

The  key  to  profitable  banking  in  Persia  is  the 
arbitration  of  foreign  exchanges,  which  being 
so  intimately  connected  with  internal  exchange 
allows  the  latter  to  be  worked  at  a  profit,  ad- 
vantage being  taken  of  breaks  in  the  level  of 
prices  ;  but  of  course,  with  the  introduction  of 
telegraphs     and     in    future     of    railways,    these 


XIV  THE    EXCHANGE  141 

profits  will  become  more  and  more  difficult  to 
make.  In  Persia  the  lack  of  quick  communica- 
tion still  affords  a  fair  chance  of  good  remunera- 
tion without  speculation  for  the  important 
services  rendered  by  a  bank   to   trade. 

The  exchange  of  Persia  upon  London  is 
specially  affected  by  two  influences..  In  the 
north  by  the  value  of  the  ruble,  the  more  im- 
portant and  constant  factor,  Tabriz,  the  Persian 
centre  of  the  Russian  exchange,  being  the 
nearest  approach  in  Persia  to  a  regular  market  ; 
and  in  the  south  by  the  rupee  exchange,  which 
diflers  from  the  ruble  in  its  being  dependent 
upon  the   price  of  silver. 

In  a  country  like  Persia,  where  the  exchange 
is  not  always  obtainable  and  money  at  times  is 
not  to  be  procured,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  the 
difficulty  of  a  bank.  Forecasts  of  movements, 
based  on  general  causes,  are  of  little  or  no  value 
in  Persia.  To  this  must  be  added  the  difficulties 
of  examining  and  counting  coins — weighing  is 
not  practicable  owing  to  the  irregularity  of  each 
coin — of  the  transmission  of  funds  to  distant 
places,  and  the  general  ignorance  except  in 
mercantile  circles — of  banking  methods  as  we 
understand  them. 

The  Imperial  Bank  is  established  in  Persia, 
not  as  is  believed  by  some  persons  to  do  business 
for  England  and  English  people,  but  to  do  busi- 
ness with  everybody.  "  The  spirit  of  free  trade 
alone,"  said  Mr.  Rabino  to  me,  "must  animate 
the  management  of  such  a  bank.  Its  services 
must  be  at  the  disposal  of  all  ;   its  impartiality  to 


142  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

English,  Russian,  Austrian,  Persian,  or  whatever 
nationality  a  customer  may  belong  to,  un- 
questioned. All  must  have  a  fair  and  generous 
treatment."  The  interests  of  the  Imperial  Bank 
are  firstly  those  of  its  shareholders,  secondly 
those  of  Persia  which  gives  the  Bank  hospitality. 

The  Bank  has  already  rendered  inestimable 
services  to  Persia  by  diffusing  sound  business 
principles,  which  the  Persians  seem  slowly  but 
gladly  to  learn  and  accept.  That  the  future  of  a 
bank  on  such  true  principles  is  bound  to  be 
crowned  with  success  seems  a  certainty,  but  as 
has  often  been  pointed  out,  it  would  be  idle 
to  fancy  that  a  couple  of  years  or  three  will 
remove  the  prejudices  and  peculiar  ways  of 
thinking  and  of  transacting  business  of  an  Oriental 
race,  whose  civilisation  is  so  different  from  ours, 
or  that  the  natives  will  accept  our  financial 
system  with  its  exactitude  and  punctuality,  the 
result  of  ages  of  experience,  unhesitatingly  and 
immediately. 

The  Persian  requires  very  careful  handling. 
He  is  obstinate,  and  by  mere  long,  tedious, 
passive  resistance  will  often  get  the  better  in  a 
bargain.  By  the  employment  of  similar  methods 
however,  it  is  not  difficult  to  obtain  one's  way  in 
the  end.  A  good  deal  ot  patience  is  required 
and  time  ad  libitum^  that  is  all. 

There  is  no  need  for  a  large  stock  of  gold  and 
rubles,  but  what  is  mostly  wanted  is  a  greater 
number  of  men  who  might  be  sent  all  over 
the  country,  men  with  good  business  heads 
and   a  polite  manner,  and,  above  all,  men   well 


XIV  THE    RUSSIAN  BANK  143 

suited     to     the     present     requirements     of    the 
country. 

The  Russian,  we  find, — contraiy  to  our 
popular  ideas,  which  ever  depict  him  knut  in 
hand, — almost  fraternises  with  the  Asiatics,  and 
in  any  case  treats  them  with  due  consideration  as 
if  they  had  a  right  to  live,  at  least  in  their  own 
country.  Hence  his  undoubted  popularity.  But 
we,  the  quintessence  of  Christianity  and  charity 
towards  our  neighbours,  habitually  treat  natives 
with  much  needless  harshness  and  reserve,  which 
far  from  impressing  the  natives  with  our  dignity 
— as  we  think — renders  us  ridiculous  in  their 
eyes.  A  number  of  younger  Englishmen  are 
beginning  to  be  alive  to  this  fact,  and  instruction 
on  this  point  should  form  part  of  the  commercial 
training  of  our  youths  v/hose  lives  are  to  be  spent 
in  the  East. 

The  other  important  bank  in  Persia  upon 
which  great  hopes  are  built,  although  worked  on 
different  lines,  is  the  so-called  Russian  Bank,  the 
Societe  de  Prets  de  Perse ^  as  it  was  at  first  called 
when  founded  by  Poliakoff  in  1891.  It  was  an 
experiment  intended  to  discover  exactly  what 
was  wanted  in  the  country  and  what  was  the 
best  way  to  attract  business.  The  monopoly 
of  Public  Auctions  was  obtained  in  conjunction 
with  the  Mont-de-Piete — a  scheme  which  did 
not  work  very  well  at  first,  the  natives  not  being 
accustomed  to  sudden  innovations.  The  concern 
subsequently  developed  into  the  Bank  Estekrasi 
(Bank  of  Loans),  or  Banque  de  Prets  de  Perse^ 
as  it  styled  itself,   but  financially  it  did   not   pay. 


144  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and  at  one  moment  was  expected  to  liquidate. 
It  is  said  that  it  then  threatened  to  amalgamate 
with  the  Imperial  Bank.  Mr.  De  Witte,  of  St. 
Petersburg  fame,  was  consulted  in  the  matter, 
and  took  exactly  twenty-four  hours  to  make  up 
his  mind  on  what  was  the  best  course  to  pursue. 
He  bought  the  bank  up,  the  State  Bank  of  St. 
Petersburg  making  an  advance  on  the  shares. 
The  Minister  of  Finance  has  a  right  to  name 
all  the  officials  in  the  bank,  who,  for  appearance 
sake,  are  not  necessarily  all  of  Russian  nationality, 
and  the  business  is  transacted  on  the  same  lines 
as  at  the  State  Bank  of  St.  Petersburg. 

A  most  efficient  man  was  sent  out  as  manager  ; 
Mr.  Grube,  a  gentleman  of  much  tact  and  most 
attractive  manner,  and — like  Mr.  Rabino — a 
genius  in  his  way  at  finance ;  a  man  with  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  natives  and  their 
ways.  In  the  short  time  he  has  been  in  Teheran 
the  bank  has  made  enormous  strides,  by  mere 
sound,  business  capability  and  manly,  straight- 
forward enterprise. 

Mr.  Grube  has,  I  think,  the  advantage  of 
the  manager  of  the  Imperial  Bank  in  the  fact 
that,  when  the  Russians  know  they  have  a  good 
man  at  the  helm,  they  let  him  steer  his  ship 
without  interference.  He  is  given  absolute 
power  to  do  what  he  thinks  right,  and  is  in  no 
way  hampered  by  shareholders  at  home.  This 
freedom  naturally  gives  him  a  very  notable  ad- 
vantage over  the  Imperial  Bank,  which  always 
has  to  wait  for  instructions  from  London. 

Mr.    Grube,   with   whom    I    had    a    long    and 


XIV  A  FAIR  FINANCIAL  DUEL  145 

most  interesting  conversation,  told  me  how  he 
spends  his  days  in  the  bazaar  branch  of  his  bank, 
where  he  studies  the  ways  and  future  possibilities 
of  the  country  and  its  natives,  and  the  best  ways 
of  transacting  business  compatible  with  European 
principles,  and  in  particular  carefully  analysing  the 
best  ways  of  pushing  Russian  trade  and  indus- 
tries in  Persia.  In  all  this  he  has  the  absolute 
confidence  and  help  of  his  Government,  and  it  is 
really  marvellous  how  much  he  has  been  able  to 
do  to  further  Russian  influence  in  Persia.  There 
is  no  trickery,  no  intrigue,  no  humbug  about  it  ; 
but  it  is  mere  frank,  open  competition  in  which 
the  stronger  nation  will  come  out  first. 

It  was  most  gratifying  to  hear  in  what  glow- 
ing terms  of  respect  the  managers  of  the  two 
rival  banks  spoke  of  each  other.  They  were 
fighting  a  financial  duel,  bravely,  fairly,  and  in  a 
most  gentlemanly  manner  on  both  sides.  There 
was  not  the  slightest  shade  of  false  play  on  either 
side,  and  this  I  specially  mention  because  of  the 
absurd  articles  which  one  often  sees  in  English 
papers,  written  by  hasty  or  ill-informed  corre- 
spondents. 

Russia's  trade,  owing  to  its  convenient  geo- 
graphical position,  is  bound  to  beat  the  English 
in  Northern  Persia,  but  it  should  be  a  good 
lesson  to  us  to  see,  nevertheless,  how  the  Russian 
Government  comes  forward  for  the  protection 
of  the  trade  of  the  country,  and  does  everything 
in  its  power  to  further  it.  Russia  will  even  go 
so  far  as  to  sell  rubles  at  a  loss  to  merchants  in 
order  to  encourage  trade  in  Persia,  no  doubt  with 

VOL.    I  L 


146  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS        ch.  xiv 

the  certainty  in  sight  that  as  trade  develops  the 
apparent  temporary  loss  will  amply  be  compen- 
sated in  due  time  by  big  profits. 

It  is,  to  an  Englishman,  quite  an  eye-opener 
to  watch  how  far  the  Russians  will  go  for  the 
absolute  benefit  of  their  own  trade,  and  this 
conduct  pursued  openly  and  blamelessly  can  only 
be  admired  by  any  fair-minded  person.  It  is 
only  a  pity  that  we  are  not  yet  wide  awake 
enough  to  do  the  same. 

The  Russian  Bank  has  branches  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  Northern  Persia,  her  business  being 
so  far  merely  confined  to  the  North. 


CHAPTER  XV 

Illegitimate  Bank-notes— Hampering  the  Bank's  work — The 
grand  fiasco  of  the  Tobacco  Corporation — Magnificent 
behaviour  of  the  natives — The  Mullahs  and  tobacco — The 
nation  gives  up  smoking — Suppression  of  the  monopoly — 
Compensation — Want  of  tact — Important  European  com- 
mercial houses  and  their  work — Russian  and  British  trade 
— Trade  routes — The  new  Persian  Customs — What  they 
are  represented  to  be  and  what  they  are — Duties — The 
employment  of  foreigners  in  Persia — The  Maclean 
incident. 

The  work  of  the  Imperial  Bank  has  at  various 
times  been  hampered  by  speculators  who  tried 
to  make  money  by  misleading  the  public. 
Their  speculations  were  always  based  on  the 
prestige  of  the  bank.  For  instance,  take  the 
Bushire  Company  and  the  Fars  Trading  Com- 
pany, Limited,  companies  started  by  native 
merchants.  They  illegally  issued  bank-notes 
which,  strangely  enough,  owing  to  the  security 
found  in  the  Imperial  bank-notes,  found  no 
difficulty  in  circulating  at  a  small  discount, 
especially  in  Shiraz. 

Naturally,  the  Imperial  Bank,  having  in  its 
conventions  with  the  Persian  Government  the 
exclusive  right  to  issue  bank-notes  payable  at 
sight,    protested    against    this    infringement     ot 

L    2 


148  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

rights,  but  for  a  long  time  got  little  redress,  and 
some  of  the  fraudulent  bank-notes  are  to  this 
day  circulating  in  Southern  Persia. 

Sooner  or  later  this  was  bound  to  interfere 
with  the  bank,  as  the  natives,  unaccustomed  to 
bank-notes,  confused  the  ones  with  the  others. 
Moreover,  the  enemies  of  the  bank  took 
advantage  of  this  confusion  to  instigate  the 
people  against  the  Imperial  Bank,  making  them 
beUeve  that  the  word  "  Imperial "  on  the  bank- 
notes meant  that  the  issuing  of  bank-notes 
was  only  a  new  scheme  of  the  Government  to 
supply  people  with  worthless  paper  instead  of  a 
currency  of  sound  silver  cash.  In  the  southern 
provinces  this  stupid  belief  spread  very  rapidly, 
and  was  necessarily  accentuated  by  the  issue  of 
the  illegal  bank-notes  of  local  private  concerns, 
which,  although  bearing  foreign  names,  were 
merely  Persian  undertakings. 

Necessarily,  the  many  foreign  speculations  to 
which  we  have  already  referred,  cannot  be  said 
to  have  strengthened  confidence  in  anything  of 
European  importation  ;  but  the  grand  successive 
abortions  of  the  Belgian  and  Russian  factories — 
which  were  to  make  gas,  sugar,  glass,  matches, 
etc. — are  hardly  to  be  compared  in  their  dis- 
astrous results  to  the  magnificent  English  fiasco 
of  the  Tobacco  Corporation,  which  not  only 
came  to  grief  itself,  but  nearly  caused  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  country.  It  is  well-known  how  a 
concession  was  obtained  by  British  capitalists 
in  1890  to  establish  a  tobacco  monopoly  in 
Persia,  which   involved  the  usual  payment   of  a 


XV  A  GRAND  FIASCO  149 

large  sum  to  the  Shah,  and  presents  to  high 
officials. 

The  company  made  a  start  on  a  very  grand 
scale  in  February,  1891,  having  the  whole 
monopoly  of  purchase  and  sale  of  tobacco  all 
over  Persia.  No  sooner  had  it  begun  its  work 
than  a  commission  of  injured  native  merchants 
presented  a  petition  to  the  Shah  to  protest 
against  it.  A  decree  was,  however,  published 
establishing  the  monopoly  of  the  corporation  all 
over  Persia,  and  upon  this  the  discontent  and 
signs  of  rebellion  began. 

Yet  this  affair  of  the  tobacco  monopoly 
showed  what  fine,  dignified  people  the  Persians 
can  be  if  they  choose.  The  want  of  tact,  the 
absolute  mismanagement  and  the  lack  of  know- 
ledge in  dealing  with  the  natives,  the  ridiculous 
notion  that  coercion  would  at  once  force  the 
Persians  to  accept  the  tobacco  supplied  by  the 
Corporation,  fast  collected  a  dense  cloud  of 
danger  overhead.  Teheran  and  the  other  larger 
cities  were  placarded  with  proclamations  insti- 
gating the  crowds  to  murder  Europeans  and  do 
away  with  their  work. 

But  the  Persians,  notwithstanding  their  threats, 
showed  themselves  patient,  and  confident  that 
the  Shah  would  restore  the  nation  to  its  former 
happiness.  In  the  meantime  the  company's 
agents  played  the  devil  all  over  the  empire.  It 
seems  incredible,  even  in  the  annals  of  Persian 
history,  that  so  little  lack  of  judgment  could 
have  been  shown  towards  the  natives. 

The  Mullahs  saw  an  excellent  opportunity  to 


150  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

undo  in  a  few  days  the  work  of  Europeans 
of  several  scores  of  years.  "Allah,"  they 
preached  to  the  people,  "  forbids  you  to 
smoke  or  touch  the  impure  tobacco  sold  you 
by  Europeans."  On  a  given  day  the  Mugte 
halh,  or  high  priest  of  sacred  Kerbalah,  declared 
that  the  faithful  throughout  the  country  must 
touch  tobacco  no  more  ;  tobacco,  the  most 
cherished  of  Persian  indulgences. 

Mirza  Hassan  Ashtiani,  mujtehed  of  Teheran, 
on  whom  the  Shah  relied  to  pacify  the  crowds 
now  in  flagrant  rebellion,  openly  preached  against 
his  Sovereign  and  stood  by  the  veto  of  his  superior 
priest  at  Kerbalah.  He  went  further  and 
exorted  the  people  to  cease  smoking,  not  because 
tobacco  was  impure,  but  because  the  Koran  says 
that  it  is  unlawful  to  make  use  of  any  article 
which  is  not  fairly  dealt  in  by  all  alike. 

At  a  given  date  all  through  the  Shah's 
dominions — and  this  shows  a  good  deal  of 
determination — the  foreigner  and  his  tobacco 
were  to  be  treated  with  contempt.  Tobacco 
was  given  up  by  all.  In  the  bazaars,  in  the 
caravanserais,  in  the  streets,  in  the  houses,  where 
under  ordinary  circumstances  every  man  puffed 
away  at  a  kalian,  a  chibuk  (small  pocket-pipe)  or 
cigarette,  not  a  single  soul  could  be  seen  smoking 
for  days  and  days.  Only  the  Shah  made  a  point 
of  smoking  in  public  to  encourage  the  people, 
but  even  his  wife  and  concubines — at  the  risk  of 
incurring  disfavour — refused  to  smoke,  and 
smashed  the  kalians  before  his  eyes.  In  house- 
holds where  the  men — ever  weaker  than  women 


XV  A  DIGNIFIED  PROTEST  151 

— could,  after  weeks  of  abstinence,  not  resist  the 
temptation  in  secrecy,  their  wives  destroyed  the 
pipes. 

For  several  weeks  not  a  single  individual 
touched  tobacco — a  most  dignified  protest  which 
quite  terrified  the  Shah  and  everybody,  for, 
indeed,  it  was  apparent  that  people  so  strong- 
willed  were  not  to  be  trifled  with. 

In  many  places  the  natives  broke  out  into 
rebellion,  and  many  lives  were  lost.  Nasr-ed- 
din  Shah,  frightened  and  perplexed,  called  the 
high  Mullah  of  Teheran  to  the  palace  (January 
5th-6th,  1892).  By  his  advice  the  tobacco 
monopoly  was  there  and  then  abolished  by  an 
Imperial  Decree,  and  the  privileges  granted  for 
the  sale  and  export  of  tobacco  revoked. 
Furthermore,  the  Mullah  only  undertook  to 
pacifv  the  people  on  condition  that  all  foreign 
enterprises  and  innovations  in  Persia  should  be 
suppressed  ;  that  all  people  imprisoned  during 
the  riots  should  be  freed,  and  the  families  of 
those  killed  fully  indemnified. 

The  sudden  end  of  the  Tobacco  Corporation 
necessarily  led  to  much  correspondence  with  the 
British  Minister,  Sir  Frank  Lascelles,  on  the 
question  of  compensation  and  damages  to  the 
company  which,  depending  on  its  monopoly, 
had  entered  into  agreements,  and  had  already 
paid  out  large  sums  of  money.  It  was  finally 
agreed  that  the  Shah  should  pay  /;500,ooo 
sterling  compensation,  and  take  over  the  assets 
of  the  company,  supposed  to  be  some  ;r  140,000, 
subject  to  realisation. 


152  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

With  the  assistance  of  the  Bank  of  Persia, 
a  six  per  cent,  loan  was  issued,  which  was  taken 
up  principally  by  the  shareholders  of  the  Tobacco 
Corporation.  The  interest  and  the  sinking  fund 
of  this  loan  were  punctually  met  until  the  year 
1900  when  it  was  repaid  in  full  on  the  conclusion 
of  the  Russian  loan. 

In  England  this  failure  seems  to  have  been 
ascribed  to  Russian  intrigue,  but  it  must  in  all 
fairness  be  said  that  had  the  Russians  tried  a 
similar  scheme  in  a  similar  manner,  they  would 
have  fared  even  worse  than  we  did.  Even 
Persian  concerns  established  on  European  princi- 
ples have  serious  troubles  to  contend  with  ;  but 
it  was  madness  to  believe  that  an  entire  Eastern 
nation  could,  at  a  moment's  notice,  be  forced  to 
accept — in  a  way  most  offensive  to  them — such 
an  article  of  primary  use  as  tobacco,  which, 
furthermore,  was  offered  at  a  higher  price  than 
their  own  tobaccos  which  they  liked  better. 

There  are  in  Persia  a  few  important  European 
commercial  houses,  such  as  Ziegler  and  Co.,  and 
Hotz  and  Son,  which  have  extensive  dealings 
with  Persians.  Ziegler  and  Co.  deal  in  English 
imports  and  in  the  exportation  of  carpets,  etc., 
whereas  Hotz  and  Son  import  Russian  articles, 
which  they  find  cheaper  and  of  easier  sale. 
Both  are  eminently  respectable  firms,  and  enjoy 
the  esteem  of  everybody. 

Notwithstanding  the  Swiss  name,  Ziegler  and 
Co.  is  an  English  firm,  although,  as  far  as  I 
know,  it  has  not  a  single  English  employee  in  its 
various   branches  in   Persia.     The  reason,  as  we 


XV  ZIEGLER  AND  CO.  153 

have  seen,  is  that  foreigners  are  considered  more 
capable.  It  has  in  the  various  cities  some  very 
able  Swiss  agents,  who  work  most  sensibly  and 
excellently,  and  who  certainly  manage  to  make 
the  best  of  whatever  business  there  is  to  be  done 
in  the  country.  For  over  thirty  years  the  house 
has  been  established  in  Persia,  having  begun  its 
life  at  Tabriz  and  then  extended  to  Teheran, 
Resht,  Meshed,  Isfahan,  Yezd — the  latter  so  far 
a  non-important  branch — and  Shiraz,  Bushire, 
Bandar  Abbas  and  Bagdad,  where  it  has  cor- 
respondents working  for  the  firm. 

The  house  imports  large  quantities  of  Man- 
chester goods  and  exports  chiefly  carpets,  cloths, 
opium  and  dried  fruit.  The  carpets,  which  are 
specially  made  for  the  European  market,  are 
manufactured  chiefly  at  Sultanabad  where  thou- 
sands of  hands  are  employed  at  the  looms, 
scattered  about  in  private  houses  of  the  people 
and  not  in  a  large  factory.  The  firm  takes 
special  care  to  furnish  good  wool  and  cottons 
coloured  with  vegetable  dyes,  and  not  with 
aniline.  Ancient  patterns  are  selected  and 
copied  in  preference  to  new  designs.  Ot 
course,  besides  these,  other  carpets  are  pur- 
chased in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Carpets 
may  be  divided  into  three  classes.  The  scarce 
and  most  expensive  pure  silk  rugs  ;  the  lamsavie/i 
or  good  quality  carpets,  and  the  mojodcli  or 
cheaper  kind.  There  is  a  good  demand  for 
the  two  latter  qualites  all  over  Europe  and  in 
America. 

Articles  specially  dealt   in   arc   the  cotton   and 


154  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

wool  fabrics  called  ghilim,  the  designs  of  which 
are  most  artistic  ;  and  to  a  certain  extent  other 
fabrics,  such  as  the  vividly  coloured  Kashan 
velvets,  the  watered  silks  of  Resht,  the  Kerman 
cloths  resembling  those  of  Cashmir,  the  silver 
and  gold  embroidered  brocades  of  Yezd,  and 
the  silk  handkerchiefs  manufactured  in  the 
various  silk  districts,  principally  Tabriz,  Resht, 
Kashan  and  Yezd. 

The  stamped  and  hand-drawn  kalamkars  in 
stringent  colours  upon  white  cotton  also  find 
their  way  in  large  quantities  to  Europe,  but  are 
more  quaint  than  beautiful.  Large  and  ill- 
proportioned  figures  are  frequently  attempted 
in  these  designs.  When  of  truly  Persian  manu- 
facture the  colours  are  said  to  be  quite  permanent 
under  the  action  of  both  light  and  water. 

The  firm  of  Hotz  and  Son  deals  in  well-nigh 
everything,  and  has  made  good  headway  of  late 
years.  It  has  large  establishments  at  Isfahan, 
Shiraz  and  Bushire,  and  two  agencies,  one  at 
Ahwaz  on  the  Karun  River,  and  one  in  Teheran 
(Groeneweg,  Dunlop,  and  Co.)  ;  while  it  has 
correspondents  in  Bagdad,  Busrah,  Hongkong 
and  Rotterdam,  the  head  offices  being  in 
London.  Its  carpet  manufacturing  business  in 
Sultanabad  is  now  carried  on  by  the  Persian 
Manufacturing  Co.  The  exports  are  similar  to 
those  of  Ziegler  and  Co. 

There  are  also  smaller  firms,  particularly  in 
Teheran,  such  as  the  Toko,  Virion,  and  others 
who  do  a  retail  business  in  piece  goods  and 
articles  of  any  kind,  and  are  entirely  in  the  hands 


XV  THE  SYSTEM  OF  FARMING  155 

of  foreigners,  Belgians,  Austrians,  and  French. 
Without  reference  to  statistics,  which  are  ab- 
solutely worthless  in  a  country  like  Persia,  the 
yearly  foreign  trade  of  Persia,  divided  between 
the  Gulf  ports  and  the  north  and  north-western 
and  south-western  frontiers,  may  be  put  down 
roughly  at  some  nine  or  ten  millions  sterling. 

The  Russian  trade  in  the  north  may  be 
considered  as  about  equal  to  the  British  in  the 
south.  Then  there  are  the  goods  brought  by 
the  Trebizonde-Tabriz  trade  route  from  Turkey 
and  the  Mediterranean,  and  by  the  Bagdad- 
Kermanshah,   another  very  important  route. 

The  extravagant  system  of  farming  prevailing 
until  quite  lately  in  Persia,  as  well  as  the  uncer- 
tainties of  Customs  and  revenue  returns,  makes  it 
difficult  to  give  trustworthy  figures  ;  but  in  future, 
probably  this  year,  we  may  expect  some  more 
reliable  data  from  the  new  Belgian  customs 
office,  a  really  sensible  and  well-managed  ad- 
ministration organised  by  Monsieur  Naus,  who  is, 
indeed,  to  be  congratulated  on  the  success  with 
which  his  efforts  at  bringing  about  so  radical  a 
reform  in  the  system  of  collecting  duties  have  in 
so  short  a  time  been  crowned.  We  often  hear  in 
England  that  the  Customs  of  Persia  are  absolutely 
in  the  hands  of  Russia,  and  are  worked  by 
Russian  officials.  Even  serious  papers  like  The 
Times  publish  misleading  statements  of  this  kind, 
but  nothing  could  be  more  erroneous.  M.  Naus, 
at  the  head  of  the  Customs,  is  a  Belgian,  and  so 
are  nearly  all  the  foreign  employees  (there  are  one 
or  two  French,  I  believe)  in  Persian  employ,  but 


156  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

not  a  single  Russian  is  to  be  found  among  their 
number.  That  the  Russians  hold  a  comparatively 
trifling  mortgage  on  the  Customs  as  a  security 
for  their  loan  is  true,  but,  as  long  as  Persia  is 
able  to  pay  interest  on  it,  Russia  has  no  more 
power  over  the  Persian.  Customs  than  we  have. 
Under  regular  and  honest  management,  like  the 
present,  the  Customs  have  already  given  consider- 
able results,  and  were  it  not  for  the  weakness  of 
the  Government  in  the  provinces,  the  Customs 
receipts  might  easily  be  doubled,  even  without  a 
change  in  the  tariff. 

The  duties  levied  in  Persia  are  determined  by 
the  treaty  of  Turkmantchai  with  Russia  in  1828, 
by  which  a  uniform  and  reciprocal  five  per  cent, 
for  import  and  export  was  agreed  to,  a  special 
convention,  nevertheless,  applying  to  Turkey, 
which  fixed  a  reciprocal  1 2  per  cent,  export  and 
6  per  cent,  import  duty,  and  "j ^  per  cent,  on 
tobacco  and  salt.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
negotiate  a  new  commercial  treaty  with  Russia 
last  year,  but  unfortunately,  matters  did  not  go 
as  was  expected  by  M.  Naus,  who  was  very 
keen  on  the  subject.  A  high  Russian  official 
was  despatched  to  Teheran  who  caused  a  good 
deal  of  trouble,  and  eventually  the  whole  matter 
fell  through. 

Regarding  the  employment  of  foreigners  by 
the  Persian  Government,  it  is  not  out  of  place  to 
recall  the  Maclean  incident. 

An  agreement  had  been  entered  into  with 
Mr.  Maclean,  a  British  subject,  and  a  former 
employee  of  the   Imperial   Bank,  to  take  charge 


XV  THE  MACLEAN  INCIDENT  157 

of  the  Mint,  In  order  to  bring  it  up  to  date  and 
work  it  on  more  business-like  principles  than  at 
present.  This  led  to  a  demand  from  the  Russians 
that  a  similarly  high  office  in  the  Shah's  Govern- 
ment should  be  given  to  a  Russian,  so  that  this 
appointment  might  not  be  taken  as  a  slight 
against  Russia ;  or,  if  this  were  not  possible,  that 
two  or  three  Russians  might  be  employed  instead 
in  minor  capacities  in  the  new  Customs.  The 
Persian  Government  would  not  agree  to  this,  but 
owing  to  the  pressure  that  had  been  brought  to 
bear  by  the  Russians  they  felt  obliged  to  dismiss 
Mr.  Maclean.  The  British  minister  necessarily 
then  stood  up  for  British  rights,  and  a  great 
scandal  was  made  of  the  whole  affair,  and  as  an 
agreement  for  three  years  had  been  signed,  the 
Persian  Government  had  to  pay  the  salary  in  full 
for  that  period,  although  they  had  only  availed 
themselves  of  Mr.  Maclean's  services  for  a  few 
months. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  Sadrazam  acted 
in  so  reckless  a  manner,  for  the  whole  matter 
might  have  been  settled  quietly  without  the 
slightest  disturbance  and  unpleasantness.  Any- 
how, this  led  to  a  decree  being  passed  (in  1901) 
that  in  future  no  British  subject^  no  Russian^  and  720 
Turk  will  be  accepted  in  Persian  employ.  This 
includes  the  army,  with  the  exception  of  the 
special  Cossack  regiment  which  had  previously 
been  formed  under  Russian  instructors.  It  can 
safely  be  said  that  there  is  not  a  single  Russian 
in  any  civil  appointment  in  Persia,  no  more  than 
there    is    any    Britisher  ;    hut,    in    the    Customs 


158  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  ch.  xv 

service  particularly,  M.  Naus  being  a  Belgian, 
nearly  all  the  employees  are  Belgian,  as  I  have 
said,  with  only  one  or  two  French  lower  sub- 
ordinates. 

The  Customs  service  is  carried  on  with  great 
fairness  to  all  alike,  and  the  mischievous  stories 
of  Russian  preference  and  of  the  violation  of 
rules  in  favour  of  Russian  goods  are  too  ridicu- 
lous to  be  taken  into  consideration.  One  fact  is 
certain,  that  any  one  who  takes  the  trouble  to 
ascertain  facts  finds  them  very  different  from 
what  they  are  represented  to  be  by  hasty  and 
over-excited  writers. 


1 

4 


llil'.     llK.Tl      I'liMiioN     1\     I'KK^IAN     W  K  KM  1  I  M :. 


r.MAUANS,    Ok    SlK(I.N<;    MKN    (JIVINC,    a    DisI'I.AV    (i|-    I'KAIN    ( )|-    S  1  KKNI 1  I  II. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

Russia  on  the  brain — The  apprehended  invasion  of  India — 
Absolute  nonsense — Russia's  tariff — In  the  House  of 
Commons — A  friendly  understanding  advisable — German 
competition — The  peace  of  the  world— Russia's  firm  policy 
of  bold  advance — An  outlet  in  the  Persian  Gulf — The  policy 
of  drift — Sound  knowledge  of  foreign  countries  needed — 
Mutual  advantages  of  a  Russian  and  British  agreement — 
Civilisation —  Persia's  integrity. 

There  is,  unfortunately,  a  class  of  Englishmen — 
especially  in  India — who  have  Russia  on  the 
brain,  and  those  people  see  the  Russian  every- 
where and  in  everything.  Every  humble  globe- 
trotter in  India  must  be  a  Russian  spy — even 
though  he  be  an  Englishman — and  much  is 
talked  about  a  Russian  invasion  of  India,  through 
Tibet,  through  Afghanistan,  Persia  or  Beluchis- 
tan. 

To  any  one  happening  to  know  these  countries 
it  is  almost  heartrending  to  hear  such  nonsense, 
and  worse  still  to  see  it  repeated  in  serious 
papers,  which  reproduce  and  comment  upon  it 
gravely  for  the  benefit  of  the  public. 

In  explanation,  and  without  going  into  many 
details,  I  will  only  mention  the  fact  that  it  is 
more   difficult   than    it   sounds   for  armies — even 


i6o  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

for  the  sturdy  Russian  soldier — to  march  hun- 
dreds of  miles  across  deserts  without  water  for 
men  and  animals,  or  over  a  high  plateau  like 
Tibet,  where  (although  suggested  by  the  wise 
newspaper  Englishman  at  home  as  a  sanatorium 
for  British  troops  in  India)  the  terrific  climate, 
great  altitudes,  lack  of  fuel,  and  a  few  other 
such  trifles  would  reduce  even  the  largest  Euro- 
pean army  into  a  very  humble  one  at  the  end 
of  a   journey  across   it. 

Then  people  seem  to  be  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that,  with  a  mountainous  natural  frontier  like 
the  Himahlyas,  a  Maxim  gun  or  two  above  each 
of  the  few  passable  passes  would  bring  to  reason 
any  army — allowing  that  it  could  get  thus  far — 
that  intended  to  cross  over  into  India  ! 

But,  besides,  have  we  not  got  soldiers  to  de- 
fend India  .?  Why  should  we  fear  the  Russians  .? 
Are  we  not  as  good  as  they  are  .?  Why  should 
we  ever  encourage  the  so  far  unconcerned 
Russian  to  come  to  India  by  showing  our  fear  .? 
It  is  neither  manly  nor  has  it  any  sense  in  it.  The 
Russian  has  no  designs  whatever  upon  India  at 
present — he  does  not  even  dream  of  advancing 
on  India — but  should  India  eventually  fall  into 
Russia's  hands — which  is  not  probable — believe 
me,  it  will  never  be  by  a  Russian  army  marching 
into  India  from  the  north,  or  north-west,  or 
west.  The  danger,  if  there  is  any,  may  be 
found  probably  very  much  nearer  home,  in  our 
own  ignorance  and  blindness. 

We  also  hear  much  about  the  infamy  of 
Russia  in  placing  a  tariff  on  all  goods  in  transit 


XVI  A  LOSING  GAME  i6i 

for  Persia,  and  we  are  told  that  this  is  another 
blow  directed  at  English  trade.  Such  is  not  the 
case.  Russia,  I  am  told  by  people  who  ought 
to  know,  would  be  only  too  glad  to  come  to  an 
understanding  with  England  on  some  sensible 
basis,  but  she  certainly  is  not  quite  so  unwise  as 
we  are  in  letting  Germany,  her  real  enemy, 
swamp  her  market  with  cheap  goods.  The  tariff 
is  chiefly  a  protection  against  Germany.  Of 
course,  if  we  choose  to  help  Germany  to  ruin 
Russia's  markets  as  well  as  our  own,  then 
we  must  suffer  in  consequence,  but  looking 
ahead  towards  the  future  of  Asia,  it  might 
possibly  not  be  unwise  to  come  to  some  sensible 
arrangement  with  Russia,  by  which  her  com- 
mercial interests  and  ours  would  mutually  benefit 
instead  of  suffering  as  they  do  at  present. 

In  Persia  we  are  playing  a  rapidly  losing 
game.  Commercially,  as  I  have  already  said, 
we  have  lost  Northern  Persia,  and  Russian  in- 
fluence is  fast  advancing  in  Southern  Persia. 
This  is  surely  the  time  to  pull  up  and  change 
our  tactics,  or  we  shall  go  to  the  wall  altogether. 

As  Mr.  Joseph  Walton,  M.P.,  very  ably  put 
it  before  the  House  of  Commons  on  January 
22nd,  1902,  in  the  case  of  Russia  we  have  at 
present  to  contend  with  abnormal  conditions  of 
competition.  It  would  therefore  be  wise  for  the 
British  Government  to  reconsider  its  policy  in 
order  to  maintain,  at  least,  our  commercial 
interests  in  Southern  Persia.  The  Government 
of  India,  too,  should  take  its  share  in  upholding 
British    interests — being     directly    concerned     in 

VOL.    I  M 


1 62  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

affairs  that  regard  the  welfare  of  Persia.  Russia 
has  gone  to  great  expense  to  construct  two 
excellent  roads  from  the  north  into  Persia  to 
facilitate  Russian  commerce,  and  it  would  be 
advisable  if  we  were  to  do  the  same  from  the 
south.  (One  of  the  roads,  the  Piri  Bazaar — 
Kasvin  Road,  is  said  to  have  cost,  including 
purchase  of  the  Kasvin  Teheran  section,  some- 
thing like  half  a  million  sterling).  It  is  indeed 
idle,  as  Mr.  Walton  said,  to  adhere  to  methods 
of  the  past  when  foreign  Governments  are  adopt- 
ing modern  methods  in  order  to  achieve  the 
commercial  conquest  of  new  regions. 

The  matter  of  establishing  Consulates,  too,  is 
of  the  greatest  importance.  We  find  even  large 
trading  cities  like  Kermanshah,  Yezd,  Shiraz  and 
Birjand  devoid  of  British  Consuls.  Undoubtedly 
we  should  wish  a  priority  of  right  to  construct 
roads  and  railways  in  Southern  Persia — in  the 
event  of  the  Persians  failing  to  construct  these 
themselves — to  be  recognised,  and  it  seems  quite 
sensible  and  fair  to  let  Persia  give  a  similar  ad- 
vantage to  Russia  in  Northern  Persia.  Nothing 
but  a  friendly  understanding  between  England 
and  Russia,  which  should  clearly  define  the  re- 
spective spheres  of  influence,  will  save  the  in- 
tegrity of  Persia.  That  country  should  remain 
an  independent  buffer  state  between  Russia  and 
India.  But  to  bring  about  this  result  it  is  more 
than  necessary  that  we  should  support  Persia 
on  our  side,  as  much  as  Russia  does  on  hers, 
or  the  balance  is  bound  to  go  in  the  latter's 
favour. 


XVI  ENGLAND'S  REAL  ENEMY  163 

The  understanding  with  Russia  should  also — 
and  I  firmly  believe  Russia  would  be  only  too 
anxious  to  acquiesce  in  this — provide  a  protection 
aeainst  German  commercial  invasion  and  enter- 
prise  in  the  region  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Ger- 
many— not  Russia — is  England's  bitterest  enemy 
— all  the  more  to  be  dreaded  because  she  is  a 
"  friendly  enemy."  It  is  no  use  to  try  and  keep 
out  Russia  merely  to  let  Germany  reap  any 
commercial  advantages  that  may  be  got — and 
that  is  the  policy  England  is  following  at  the 
present  moment.  The  question  whether  or  no 
we  have  a  secret  agreement  with  Germany,  in 
connection  with  the  Euphrates  Valley  Railway, 
is  a  serious  one,  because,  although  one  cannot 
but  admire  German  enterprise  in  that  quarter,  it 
would  be  well  to  support  it  only  in  places  where 
it  is  not  likely  to  be  disastrous  to  our  own  trade 
and  interests  generally. 

Little  or  no  importance  should  be  attached  to 
the  opinion  of  the  Russian  Press  in  their  attacks 
upon  England.  The  influential  men  of  Russia, 
as  well  as  the  Emperor  himself,  are  certainly 
anxious' to  come  to  a  satisfactory  understanding 
with  England  regarding  affairs  not  only  in  Persia 
but  in  Asia  generally.  An  understanding  be- 
tween the  two  greatest  nations  in  the  world 
would,  as  long  as  it  lasted,  certainly  maintain  the 
peace  of  the  world,  and  would  have  enormous 
control  over  the  smaller  nations ;  whereas  petty 
combinations  can  be  of  little  practical  solid 
assistance  or  use  to  us. 

As    I    have    pointed    out     before     on     several 

M    2 


1 64  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

occasions,^  Russia  is  not  to-day  what  she  was 
half  a  century  ago.  She  has  developed  enough 
to  know  her  strength  and  power,  and  her  soldiers 
are  probably  the  finest  in  Europe — because  the 
most  practical  and  physically  enduring.  Her 
steady,  firm  policy  of  bold  advance,  in  spite  of 
our  namby-pamby,  ridiculous  remonstrances,  can 
but  command  the  admiration  of  any  fair-minded 
person,  although  we  may  feel  sad,  very  sad,  that 
we  have  no  men  capable  of  standing  up  against 
it,  not  with  mere  empty,  pompous  words,  but 
with  actual  deeds  which  might  delay  or  stop  her 
progress.  As  matters  are  proceeding  now,  we 
are  only  forwarding  Russia's  dream  of  possessing 
a  port  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  She  wants  it  and 
she  will  no  doubt  get  it.  In  Chapters  XXXIII 
and  XXXIV  the  question  of  the  point  upon 
which  her  aims  are  directed  is  gone  into  more 
fully.  The  undoubted  fact  remains  that,  not- 
withstanding our  constant  howling  and  barking, 
she  invariably  gets  what  she  wants,  and  even 
more,  which  would  lead  one  to  believe  that,  at 
any  rate,  her  fear  of  us  is  not  very  great. 

We  are  told  that  our  aggressive — by  which  is 
meant  retrogressive — policy  towards  Russia  is 
due  to  our  inability  to  efi'ect  an  entire  reversal  of 
our  policy  towards  that  country,  but  this  is  not 
the  case  at  all.  At  any  rate,  as  times  and  cir- 
cumstances have  changed,  our  policy  need  not 
be  altogether  reversed,  but  it  must  necessarily 
be  subjected  to  modifications  in  order  to  meet 
changed    conditions.     If  we    stand    still    while 

1  See  China  and  the  Allies^  Heinemann  ;  Scribner. 


XVI  THE  POLICY   OF  DRIFT  165 

Russia  is  going  fast  ahead,  we  are  perforce  left 
behind.  The  policy  of  drift,  which  we  seem  to 
favour,  is  bound  to  lead  us  to  disaster,  and  when 
we  couple  with  it  inefficacious  resistance  and 
bigoted  obstruction  we  cannot  be  surprised  if,  in 
the  end,  it  only  yields  us  bitter  disappointment, 
extensive  losses,  enmity  and  derision. 

The  policy  of  drift  is  merely  caused  by  our 
absolute  ignorance  of  foreign  countries.  We 
drift  simply  because  we  do  not  know  what  else 
to  do.  We  hear  noble  lords  in  the  Government 
say  that  the  reason  we  did  not  lend  Persia  the 
paltry  two  and  a  half  millions  sterling  was  be- 
cause "  men  of  business  do  not  lend  money 
except  on  proper  security,  and  that  before  em- 
barking on  any  such  policy  the  Government 
must  be  anxious  to  see  whether  the  security  is 
both  sufficient  and  suitable."  Yes,  certainly,  but 
why  did  the  Government  not  see  .?  Had  the 
Government  seen  they  certainly  would  have 
effected  the  loan.  Surely,  well-known  facts,  al- 
ready mentioned  in  previous  pages,  have  proved 
very  luminously  our  folly  in  taking  the  advice  of 
incompetent  men  who  judge  of  matters  with 
which,  to  say  the  least,  they  are  not  familiar. 
But  the  real  question  appears  to  be,  not  how  to 
make  a  safe  and  profitable  financial  investment, 
which  is  no  part  of  the  functions  of  the  British 
or  any  other  Government,  but  rather  whether  it 
is  not  better  to  lay  out  a  certain  sum  for  a  valu- 
able political  object  than  to  allow  a  formidable 
competitor  to  do  so  to  our  prejudice. 

Hence  the  disadvantageous  position   in   which 


1 66  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

we  find  ourselves  at  present,  all  over  Asia,  but 
particularly  in  Persia.  It  w^ould  no  doubt  be 
the  perfection  of  an  agreement  if  an  amicable 
understanding  could  be  arrived  at  with  Russia, 
not  only  regarding  Persia  but  including  China, 
Manchuria,  and  Corea  as  well.  A  frank  and  fair 
adjustment  of  Russian  and  British  interests  in 
these  countries  could  be  effected  without  serious 
difficulty,  mutual  concessions  could  advanta- 
geously be  granted,  and  mutual  advice  and 
friendly  support  would  lead  to  remarkably  pros- 
perous results  for  both  countries. 

Russia,  notwithstanding  all  we  hear  of  her, 
would  only  be  too  glad  to  make  sacrifices  and 
concessions  in  order  to  have  the  friendship  and 
support  of  England,  and  Russia's  friendship  to 
England  would,  I  think,  be  of  very  great  assist- 
ance to  British  manufacturers.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  Russia  is  an  enormous  country, 
and  that  her  markets  both  for  exports  and  im- 
ports are  not  to  be  despised.  In  machinery 
alone  huge  profits  could  be  made,  as  well  as  in 
cloths,  piece  goods,  fire-arms,  Manchester  goods, 
worked  iron,  steel,  etc. 

Articles  of  British  manufacture  are  in  much 
demand  in  Russia  and  Siberia,  and,  should  the 
British  manufacturer  see  his  way  to  make 
articles  as  required  by  the  buyer,  very  large 
profits  could  be  made  in  the  Russian  market. 
Also  huge  profits  will  eventually  be  made  by  the 
export  of  Siberian  products  into  England  and  the 
Continent,  a  branch  of  industry  which  the 
Russians  themselves  are  attempting  to  push  into 


XVI  WESTERN  CIVILISATION  167 

the  British  market  with  the  assistance  of  their 
Government. 

To  return  to  Persia  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  British  imports  into  that  country  (in  1900) 
amounted  to  £1,400,000,  v^hilst  Russia  imported 
£21,974,952  of  British  goods.  Which,  after  all, 
is  the  customer  best  worth  cultivating  :  Persia 
which  takes  £1,400,000  of  our  goods,  or  Russia 
which  buys  from  us  for  £21,974,952  ? 

It  is  a  mistake  to  believe  that  we  are  the  only 
civilising  agents  of  the  world,  and  that  the  work 
of  other  powers  in  that  direction  only  tends  to 
the  stagnation  of  Eastern  peoples.  One  might 
affirm  with  more  truth  that  our  intercourse  with 
the  civilisation  of  the  East  tends  to  our  own 
stagnation.  We  do  impart  to  the  natives,  it  is 
true,  some  smattering  of  the  semi-barbaric, 
obsolete  ways  we  possess  ourselves,  but  standing 
aside  and  trying  to  look  upon  matters  with  the 
eye  of  a  rational  man,  it  is  really  difficult  to  say 
whether  what  we  teach  and  how  we  teach  it 
does  really  improve  the  Eastern  people  or  not. 
Personally,  with  a  long  experience  of  natives 
all  over  Asia,  it  appears  to  me  that  it 
does  not. 

The  Russian,  though  from  a  British  point  of 
view  altogether  a  barbarian,  does  not  appear  to 
spoil  the  natives  quite  so  much  in  his  work 
among  them.  The  natives  under  his  7-egi?ne 
seem  happy,  and  his  work  of  civilisation  is 
more  of  the  patriarchal  style,  tending  more  to 
enrich  the  people,  to  promote  commerce  and 
trade  on   appropriate  lines,  than   to  educate   tlie 


1 68  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS        ch.  xvi 

masses  according  to  Western  methods  and  laws. 
The  results  are  most  decidedly  good,  and  any- 
how lead  to  much  greater  contentment  among 
the  masses  than  we  can  secure,  for  instance,  in 
India.  Above  all  things  it  makes  for  peace  ; 
the  natives  are  treated  with  extreme  considera- 
tion and  kindness,  but  at  the  same  time  they 
know  that  no  nonsense  is  tolerated,  and  that 
is  undoubtedly  the  way  most  appreciated  by 
Asiatics. 

In  Persia,  it  is  to  be  hoped  for  the  peace  of 
all  that  neither  Russia  nor  England  will  acquire 
any  territorial  rights,  but  that  the  integrity  of 
the  Shah's  Empire  may  long  be  preserved.  Only 
it  would  not  be  unwise  to  prepare  for  emer- 
gencies in  case  the  country — already  half  spoiled 
by  European  ways — should  one  day  collapse  and 
make  interference  necessary.  The  integrity  of 
states  in  Asia  intended  to  serve  as  buffers  is  all 
very  well  when  such  states  can  look  after  them- 
selves, but  with  misgovernment  and  want  of 
proper  reform,  as  in  Persia,  great  trouble  may  be 
expected  sooner  than  we  imagine,  unless  we  on 
our  side  are  prepared  to  help  Persia  as  much  as 
Russia  does  on  her  side. 

If  this  can  be  done,  with  little  trouble  to 
ourselves,  and  in  a  way  agreeable  to  the  Persians, 
there  is  no  reason  why,  as  an  independent  state, 
Persia  should  not  fully  develop  her  resources, 
reorganise  her  government  and  army,  become  a 
powerful  nation,  and  establish  a  flourishing  trade, 
Russia  and  England  profiting  equally  by  the 
assistance  given  her. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Education — Educated  but  not  instructed — The  Mullahs — The 
Madrassahs — The  Royal  College  in  Teheran — Secular 
Schools — The  brain  of  Persian  students — Hints  on  com- 
mercial education  for  Englishmen — Languages  a  necessity 
— Observation — Foreigners  and  Englishmen — The  English- 
man as  a  linguist — Special  commercial  training  in  Germany 
— The  British  manufacturer  —  Ways  and  ways — Our 
Colonies  swamped  with  foreign-made  goods — Russia  fast 
and  firmly  advancing. 

To  believe  that  the  Persians  are  illiterate  would 
be  a  mistake,  and  to  think  that  the  masses  of 
Iran  were  properly  educated  would  be  a  greater 
mistake  still  ;  but.  if  I  may  be  allowed  the 
expression,  the  average  Persian  cannot  be  better 
described  than  by  saying  he  is  "  educated  in 
ignorance "  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  average 
Persian  is  educated,  yes  ;  but  instructed,  no. 

If  what  the  people  are  taught  can  be  called 
education — and  we  in  England  should  not  be  the 
lirst  to  throw  stones  at  others — the  average 
Persian  is  better  educated  than  the  average 
European.  But  there  is  education  and  educa- 
tion. It  is  difficult  to  find  the  commonest  man 
in  Persian  cities  who  cannot  read  to  a  certain 
extent,  and  most  people  can  also  write  a  little 
and  have  a  smattering  of  arithmetic. 


lyo  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  teaching,  except  In  the  larger  and  princi- 
pal centres,  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mullahs,  so  that  naturally,  as  in  our  clerical 
schools,  religion  is  taught  before  all  things,  verses 
of  the  Koran  are  learnt  by  heart,  and  the  vari- 
ous rites  and  multiple  religious  ceremonies  are 
pounded  into  the  children's  brains,  and  accessory 
religious  sanitary  duties  of  ablutions,  etc.,  which 
are  believed  to  purify  the  body  and  bring  it 
nearer  to  Allah,  are  inculcated.  Even  in  remoter 
villages,  the  boys  are  taught  these  things  in  the 
Mosques  as  well  as  a  little  reading,  and  enough 
writing  for  daily  uses  and  how  to  add  and  sub- 
tract and  multiply  figures.  Famous  bits  of 
national  poetry  and  further  passages  from  the 
Koran  are  committed  to  memory. 

In  the  large  cities  a  higher  education  can  be 
obtained  in  the  elaborate  Madrassahs  adjoining 
the  mosques,  and  here,  too,  entirely  at  the  hands 
of  the  Mullahs  ;  but  these  higher  colleges,  a 
kind  of  university,  are  only  frequented  by  the 
richer  and  better  people,  by  those  who  intend  to 
devote  themselves  to  medicine,  to  jurisprudence, 
or  to  theological  studies.  Literature  and  art  and 
science,  all  based  mostly  on  the  everlasting 
Koran,  are  here  taught  a  fond^  the  students 
spending  many  years  in  deep  and  serious  study. 
These  are  the  old-fashioned  and  more  common 
schools.  But  new  schools  in  European  or  semi- 
European  style  also  exist  and,  considering  all 
things,  are  really  excellent. 

In  Teheran,  a  Roval  College  has  been  in 
existence    for    some    vears.       It    has    first-class 


9^- 


I  MAN     I  I    Ml 


IIi.mI   I'licsl  of  'rcjlicr.iii.  ;uiil  ()iri(i:il  S;L\rr  of   I'rajci-.- 
to  ihc  Shah. 


XVII  THE  ROYAL  COLLEGE  171 

foreign  teachers,  besides  native  instructors  edu- 
cated in  Europe,  and  supplies  the  highest  in- 
struction to  the  students.  Modern  languages  are 
taught  to  perfection,  the  higher  mathematics,  in- 
ternational jurisprudence,  chemistry,  philosophy, 
military  strategy,  and  I  do  not  knov^  v^hat 
else  !  I  understood  from  some  of  the  pro- 
fessors that  the  students  were  remarkable  for 
their  quickness  and  intelligence  as  compared 
w^ith  Europeans,  and  I  myself,  on  meeting  some 
of  the  students  who  had  been  and  others  who 
were  being  instructed  in  the  University,  was 
very  much  struck  by  their  facility  in  learning 
matters  so  foreign  to  them,  and  by  their  astound- 
ing faculty  of  retaining  what  they  had  learnt. 
It  must  be  recollected  that  the  various  scientific 
lessons  and  lectures  were  delivered  not  in  Persian, 
but  in  some  foreign  language,  usually  French, 
which  intensified  their  difficulty  of  apprehending. 

Other  private  schools  have  also  been  started 
on  similar  principles  in  various  parts  of  the 
Empire.  Even  in  Yezd  a  most  excellent  school 
on  similar  lines  is  to  be  found  and  will  be 
described  later  on. 

Naturally  the  Mullahs  look  askance  upon 
these  Government  schools,  in  which  foreign 
methods  are  adopted.  The  Alliance  Fran9aise 
of  Paris,  which  has  a  committee  in  Teheran, 
has  opened  a  French  school  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Virioz,  a  certificated  professor.  The 
school  has  nearly  100  pupils,  all  natives.  This 
is  a  primary  school,  of  which  the  studies  arc  in 
French,   but   a    Mullah   has    been   added    to    tlie 


172  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

staff  to  teach  the  Koran  and  rehgious  subjects. 
In  Hamadan,  a  large  Jewish  centre,  the  Alliance 
Israelite  has  opened  important  schools  which 
have  largely  drained  the  American  Presbyterian 
schools  of  their  Jewish  pupils.  Other  secular 
schools,  it  appears,  are  to  be  opened  in  which 
foreign  education  is  to  be  imparted,  and  no 
doubt  this  is  a  first  and  most  excellent  step  of 
Persia  towards  the  improvement,  if  not  the  actual 
reform,  of  the  old  country. 

Not  that  the  religious  education  received 
from  the  priests  was  without  its  good  points. 
The  love  for  literature  and  poetry,  which  it 
principally  expounded,  developed  in  the  people 
the  more  agreeable  qualities  which  have  made 
the  Persian  probably  the  most  polite  man  on  this 
earth.  The  clerical  education,  indeed,  worked 
first  upon  the  heart,  then  upon  the  brain  ;  it 
taught  reverence  for  one's  parents,  love  for  one's 
neighbours,  and  obedience  to  one's  superiors  ;  it 
expounded  soft,  charitable  ways  in  preference  to 
aggression  or  selfishness — not  the  right  instead 
of  the  duty — as  is  frequently  the  case  in  secular 
schools. 

But  softness,  consideration,  poetry,  and  charity 
are  things  of  the  past  ;  they  can  only  be  indulged 
in  by  barbarians  ;  in  civilisation,  unluckily,  there 
is  very  little  use  for  them  except  for  advertisement 
sake.  So  the  Persians  were  wise  to  resort  to  our 
style  of  education,  which  may  yet  be  the  means 
of  saving  their  country.  They  will  lose  their 
courteousness — they  are  fast  beginning  to  do  that 
already — their   filial  love,  their  charity,  and  all 


XVII  THE  PERSIAN   BRAIN  173 

the  other  good  qualities  they  may  possess  ;  only 
when  these  are  gone  will  they  rank  in  civilisation 
quite  as  high  as  any  European  nation  ! 

The  wealthier  people  send  their  sons  to  be 
educated  abroad  in  European  capitals,  and  one 
cannot  help  being  struck  by  the  wonderful  ease 
with  which  these  fellows  master  not  only  lan- 
guages, but  science  and  extremely  complex 
subjects.  Whether  this  is  due  to  the  brain  of 
young  Persians  being  fresher  owing  to  its  not 
having  been  overtaxed  for  generations — and  there- 
fore the  impressions  are  clearly  received  and 
firmly  recorded,  or  whether  the  mode  of  life 
is  apt  to  develop  the  brain  more  than  any  other 
part  of  their  anatomy  is  difficult  to  say,  but  the 
quickness  and  lucidity  of  the  average  young 
Persian  brain  is  certainly  astounding  when  com- 
pared to  that  of  European  brains  of  the  same 
ages. 

The  Persian,  too,  has  a  most  practical  way  of 
looking  at  things, — when  he  does  take  the 
trouble  to  do  so — not  sticking  to  one  point  of 
view  but  observing  his  subject  from  all  round, 
as  it  were,  with  a  good  deal  of  philosophical 
humour  that  is  of  great  help  to  him  in  all  he 
undertakes  ;  and  it  is  curious  to  see  how  fast  and 
thoroughly  the  younger  Persians  of  better  families 
can  adapt  themselves  to  European  ways  of  thought 
and  manner  without  the  least  embarrassment  or 
concern.  In  this,  I  think,  they  surpass  any 
other  Asiatic  nation,  the  small  community  of 
the  Parsees  of  India  alone  excepted. 

And  here  a  word  or  two  on  the  education   of 


174  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Englishmen  intending  to  make  a  living  abroad, 
especially  in  Asia,  and  particularly  in  Persia,  will 
not,  I  hope,  be  out  of  place.  With  the  fast- 
growing  intercourse  between  East  and  West, 
sufficient  stress  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  fact 
that  sound  commercial  education  on  up-to-date 
principles  is  chiefly  successful  in  countries  under- 
going the  processes  of  development,  and  that, 
above  all,  the  careful  study  of  foreign  languages 
— the  more  the  better — should  occupy  the  at- 
tention of  the  many  students  in  our  country  who 
are  to  live  in  Asia.  There  is  a  great  deal  too 
much  time  absolutely  wasted  in  English  schools 
over  Latin  and  Greek,  not  to  mention  the 
exaggerated  importance  given  to  games  like 
cricket,  football,  tennis,  which,  if  you  like,  are 
all  very  well  to  develop  the  arms  and  legs,  but 
seem  to  have  quite  the  reverse  effect  upon  the 
brain. 

Yet  what  is  required  nowadays  to  carry  a  man 
through  the  world  are  brains,  and  not  muscular 
development  of  limbs.  As  for  a  classical  educa- 
tion, it  may  be  all  right  for  a  clergyman,  a  lawyer, 
or  for  a  man  with  high  but  unprofitable  literary 
tastes,  but  not  for  fellows  who  are  not  only  to  be 
useful  to  themselves,  but  indirectly  to  the  mother 
country,  by  developing  the  industries  or  trades  of 
lands  to  be  opened  up. 

If  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  so,  one  of  the 
principal  qualities  which  we  should  develop  in 
our  young  men  is  the  sense  of  observation  in  all 
its  forms — a  sense  which  is  sadly  neglected  in 
English     education.     It     has    always    been     my 


XVII  OBSERVATION  175 

humble  experience  that  one  learns  more  of  use  in 
one  hour's  keen  observation  than  by  reading  all 
the  books  in  the  world,  and  v^hen  that  sense  is 
keenly  developed  it  is  quite  extraordinary  with 
what  facility  one  can  do  things  which  the  average 
unobservant  man  thinks  utterly  impossible.  It 
most  certainly  teaches  one  to  simplify  everything 
and  always  to  select  the  best  and  easiest  way  in 
all  one  undertakes,  which,  after  all,  is  the  way 
leading  to  success. 

Again,  when  observation  is  keenly  developed, 
languages — or,  in  fact,  anything  else — can  be 
learnt  with  amazing  facility.  The  "  knack  "  of 
learning  languages  is  only  due  to  observation  ; 
the  greatest  scientific  discoveries  have  been  due  to 
mere  observation  ;  the  greatest  commercial  enter- 
prises are  based  on  the  practical  results  of  ob- 
servation. But  it  is  astounding  how  few  people 
do  really  observe,  not  only  carefully,  but  at  all. 
The  majority  of  folks  might  as  well  be  blind  for 
what  they  see  for  themselves.  They  follow  like 
sheep  what  they  are  told  to  do,  and  make  their 
sons  and  grandsons  do  the  same  ;  and  few  countries 
suffer  more  from  this  than  England. 

When  travelling  in  the  East  one  cannot  help 
being  struck  by  the  difference  of  young  English- 
men and  foreigners  employed  in  similar  capacities 
in  business  places.  The  foreigner  is  usually 
fluent  in  four,  five  or  six  different  languages,  and 
has  a  smattering  of  scientific  knowledge  which,  if 
not  very  deep,  is  at  any  rate  sufficient  for  the  pur- 
poses required.  He  is  well  up  in  engineering, 
electricity,  the  latest  inventions,  explorations,  dis- 


176  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

coveries  and  commercial  devices.  He  will  talk 
sensibly  on  almost  any  subject ;  he  is  moderate 
in  his  habits  and  careful  with  his  money. 

Now,  take  the  young  Englishman.  He  seldom 
knows  well  more  than  one  language  ;  occasion- 
ally one  finds  fellows  who  can  speak  two  tongues 
fluently  ;  rarely  one  who  is  conversant  with 
three  or  four.  His  conversation  generally  deals 
with  drinks,  the  latest  or  coming  races,  the  relative 
values  of  horses  and  jockeys  and  subsequent  offers 
to  bet — in  which  he  is  most  proficient.  The 
local  polo,  if  there  is  any,  or  tennis  tournaments 
afford  a  further  subject  for  conversation,  and  then 
the  lack  of  discussible  topics  is  made  up  by  more 
friendly  calls  for  drinks.  The  same  subjects  are 
gone  through  with  variations  time  after  time,  and 
that  is  about  all. 

Now,  I  maintain  that  this  should  not  be  so, 
because,  taking  things  all  round,  the  young 
Englishman  is  really  au  fond  brighter  and  in- 
finitely more  intelligent  than  foreigners.  It  is 
his  education  and  mode  of  living  that  are  at  fault, 
not  the  individual  himself,  and  this  our  cousins 
the  Americans  have  long  since  discovered  ;  hence 
their  steaming  ahead  of  us  in  every  line  with  the 
greatest  ease. 

We  hear  that  the  Englishman  is  no  good  at 
learning  languages,  but  that  is  again  a  great 
mistake.  I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  any 
other  nation  in  Europe,  after  the  Russians,  who 
have  greater  facility — if  properly  cultivated — and 
are  more  capable  of  learning  languages  to  perfec- 
tion than   the    English.     I   am  not  referring  to 


XVII  APPROPRIATE   MANNERS  177 

every  shameless  holiday  tripper  on  the  Contuient 
who  makes  himself  a  buffoon  by  using  misapplied, 
mispronounced,  self-mistaught  French  or  Italian 
or  German  sentences,  but  I  mean  the  rare 
observant  Englishman  who  studies  languages 
seriously  and  practically. 

Speaking  from  experience,  in  my  travels — 
which  extend  more  or  less  all  over  the  world 
— I  have  ever  found  that  Englishmen,  when 
put  to  it,  could  learn  languages  perfectly.  Hence 
my  remarks,  which  may  seem  blunt  but  are 
true.  Truly  there  Is  no  reason  why  the  gift 
of  learning  languages  should  be  neglected  in 
England, — a  gift  which,  I  think,  is  greatly 
facilitated  by  developing  in  young  people  musical 
qualities,  if  any,  and  training  the  ear  to  observe 
and  receive  sounds  correctly, — a  fact  to  which 
we  are  just  beginning  to  wake  up. 

It  is  undoubted  that  the  command  of  several 
languages  gives  a  commercial  man  an  enormous 
advantage  In  the  present  race  of  European  nations 
in  trying  to  obtain  a  commercial  superiority ;  but 
the  command  of  a  language  requires,  too,  to  a 
limited  extent  the  additional  etiquette  of  ways 
and  manners  appropriate  to  It  to  make  it  quite 
efficient  ;  and  these,  as  well  as  the  proper  manner 
of  speaking  the  language  Itself,  can  only,  I  repeat, 
be  learnt  by  personal  observation. 

The  Germans  train  commercial  men  specially 
for  the  East,  men  who  visit  every  nook  of  Asiatic 
countries  where  trade  is  to  be  developed,  and 
closely  study  the  natives,  their  ways  ot  living, 
their  requirements,  reporting   in   the  most  minute 

VOL.    I  N 


178  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

manner  upon  them,  so  that  the  German  manu- 
facturers may  provide  suitable  articles  for  the 
various  markets.  In  the  specific  case  of  Persia, 
Russia,  the  predominant  country  in  the  North, 
does  exactly  the  same.  The  Russian  manu- 
facturer studies  his  client,  his  habits,  his  customs, 
and  supplies  him  with  what  he  desires  and 
cherishes,  and  does  not,  like  the  British  manu- 
facturer, export  to  Eastern  countries  articles 
which  may  very  well  suit  the  farmer,  the  cyclist, 
or  the  cabman  in  England,  but  not  the  Persian 
agriculturist,  camel-driver,  or  highwayman. 

The  everlasting  argument  that  the  British 
manufacturer  supplies  a  better  article  borders 
very  much  on  the  idiotic.  First  of  all,  setting 
apart  the  doubt  whether  he  does  really  supply  a 
better  article,  what  is  certain  is  that  a  "  better 
article  "  may  not  be  of  the  kind  that  is  wanted 
at  all  by  the  people.  There  are  in  this  world 
climates  and  climates,  peoples  and  peoples,  re- 
ligions and  religions,  houses  and  houses,  customs 
and  customs  ;  and  therefore  the  well-made  Eng- 
lish article  (allowing  it  to  be  well-made)  which 
suits  English  people  is  not  always  adapted  for  all 
other  countries,  climates,  and  usages. 

Another  prevalent  mistake  in  this  country  is  to 
believe  that  the  Persian,  or  any  other  Oriental, 
will  only  buy  cheap  things.  The  Oriental  may 
endeavour  to  strike  a  bargain — for  that  is  one  of 
the  chief  pleasures  of  his  existence,  though  a  fault 
which  can  easily  be  counter-balanced — but  he  is 
ever  ready  to  pay  well  for  what  he  really  wants. 
Thus,  if  because  of  his   training   in   fighting  he 


XVII  CUSTOMS  AND  CUSTOMS  179 

requires  a  certain  curl  and  a  particular  handle 
to  his  knife  ;  if  he  fancies  a  particular  pattern 
printed  or  woven  in  the  fabrics  he  imports,  and  if 
because  of  his  religious  notions  he  prefers  his 
silver  spoons  drilled  with  holes  ;  there  does  not 
seem  to  be  any  plausible  reason  why  his  wishes 
should  not  be  gratified  as  long  as  he  pays  for  the 
articles  supplied. 

We,  who  own  half  the  world,  and  ought  to 
know  better  by  this  time,  seem  constantly  to 
forget  that  our  customs,  and  ways,  seem  as  ridi- 
culous to  Orientals  (to  some  of  ourselves,  too,) 
quite  as  ridiculous  as  theirs  to  us.  In  some  cases, 
even,  great  offence  can  be  caused  by  trying  to 
enforce  our  methods  too  suddenly  upon  Eastern 
countries.  Civilised  people  may  prefer  to  blow 
their  noses  with  an  expensive  silk  handkerchief, 
which  they  carefully  fold  up  with  contents  into 
the  most  prominent  pocket  of  their  coats  ; 
the  unclean  Oriental  may  prefer  to  close  one 
nostril  by  pressing  it  with  his  finger  and  from 
the  other  forcibly  eject  extraneous  matter  to  a 
distance  of  several  feet  away,  by  violent  blowing, 
repeating  the  operation  with  the  other  nostril. 
This  may  be  thought  not  quite  graceful,  but  is 
certainly  a  most  effective  method,  and  possibly 
cleaner  than  ours  in  the  end.  We  may  fancy  it 
good  manners  when  in  public  to  show  little  more 
of  our  shirts  than  the  collar  and  cuffs,  but  the  Per- 
sian or  the  Hindoo,  for  instance,  prefers  to  let  the 
garment  dangle  to  its  full  extent  outside  so  as  to 
show  its  design  in  full.  Again,  we  may  consider 
it  highly   unbecoming  and    improper    for    ladies 

N     2 


i8o  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

to  show  their  lower  limbs  above  the  ankle  ;  the 
Persian  lady  thinks  noth'ng  of  that,  but  deems  it 
shocking  to  show  her  face. 

And  so  we  could  go  on  and  on  ;  in  fact,  with 
the  Persians,  one  might  almost  go  as  far  as  saying 
that,  with  the  exception  of  eating  and  drinking 
and  a  few  other  matters,  they  do  most  things  in 
a  contrary  way  to  ours.  They  remove  their  shoes, 
when  we  would  remove  our  hats  ;  they  shave 
their  heads  and  let  the  beard  grow  ;  they  sleep 
in  the  day  and  sit  up  the  greater  portion  of  the 
night  ;  they  make  windows  in  the  roof  instead 
of  in  the  walls  ;  they  inoculate  smallpox  instead 
of  vaccinating  to  prevent  it  ;  they  travel  by  night 
instead  of  by  day. 

It  would  be  absurd  to  believe  that  we  can 
alter  in  a  day  the  customs,  religions,  and  manners 
of  millions  of  natives,  and  it  seems  almost 
incomprehensible  that  in  such  long  colonial 
experience  as  ours  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to 
grasp  so  simple  a  fact.  But  here,  again,  comes 
in  my  contention  that  our  failing  is  absolute 
lack  of  observation  ;  unless  it  be  indeed  our 
conceited  notion  that  other  people  must  rise  up 
to  our  standard.  Anyhow,  we  have  lost  and  are 
losing  heavily  by  it. 

We  see  the  Germans  and  Austrians  swamping 
our  own  Colonies  with  goods  wherewith  our 
bazaars  in  India  are  overflowing  ;  whereas 
English  articles — if  cottons  are  excepted — are 
seldom  to  be  seen  in  the  bazaars.  This  seems 
indeed  a  curious  state  of  affairs.  Nor  do  we 
need  to   go   to    India.      England   itself   is    over- 


XVII  PERSONAL   INFLUENCE  iBi 

flowing  with  foreign-made  goods.  Now,  why 
should  it  not  be  possible — and  certainly  more 
profitable — to  meet  the  wishes  of  natives  of 
Eastern  countries  and  give  them  what  they 
want  ? 

There  is  another  matter  which  greatly  hampers 
the  British  manufacturer,  in  his  dealings  with 
Persians  particularly.  It  is  well  to  recollect  that 
the  blunt  way  we  have  of  transacting  business 
does  not  always  answer  with  Orientals.  Im- 
patience, too,  of  which  we  are  ever  brimful, 
is  a  bad  quality  to  possess  in  dealings  with  Per- 
sians. Times  have  gone  by  when  England  had 
practically  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the 
East  and  could  lay  down  the  law  to  the  buyers. 
The  influx  of  Europeans  and  the  extension  of 
trade  to  the  most  remote  corners  of  the  globe 
have  increased  to  such  an  extent  during  the  last 
few  years — and  with  these  competition — that 
the  exporter  can  no  longer  use  the  slack,  easy 
ways  of  half-a-century  ago,  when  commercial 
supremacy  was  in  our  hands,  and  must  look  out 
for  himself. 

A  knowledge  of  the  language,  with  a  con- 
cihatory,  courteous  manner,  a  good  stock  of 
patience  and  a  fair  capacity  for  sherbet,  hot  tea 
and  cofi^^e,  will,  in  Persia,  carry  a  trader  much 
further  in  his  deaUngs  than  the  so-called  "smarter 
ways  "  appreciated  in  England  or  America  ;  and 
another  point  to  be  remembered  in  countries 
wlicre  the  natives  are  unbusiness-like,  as  they 
are  in  Persia,  is  that  personal  influence  and  trust 
— which   the   natives    can    never  dissociate    from 


i82  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xvii 

the  bargain  in  hand — go  a  very  long  way  towards 
successful  trading  in  Iran. 

This  is,  to  my  mind,  one  of  the  principal 
reasons  of  Russian  commercial  successes  in 
Northern  Persia.  We  will  not  refer  here  to  the 
ridiculous  idea,  so  prevalent  in  England,  that 
Russia  was  never  and  never  will  be  a  manufac- 
turing country.  Russia  is  very  fast  developing 
her  young  industries,  which  are  pushed  to  the 
utmost  by  her  Government,  and  what  is  more, 
the  work  is  done  in  a  remarkably  practical  way, 
by  people  who  possess  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
what  they  are  doing.  The  natives  and  the 
geographical  features  of  the  country  have  been 
carefully  studied,  and  the  Russian  trading  scheme 
is  carried  firmly  and  steadily  on  an  unshakable 
base.  We  sit  and  express  astonishment  at  Rus- 
sian successes  in  Persia  ;  the  peo})le  at  home  can 
hardly  be  made  to  realise  them,  and  I  have 
heard  people  even  discredit  them  ;  but  this  is 
only  the  beginning  and  nothing  to  what  we  shall 
see  later  on  unless  we  proceed  to  work  on  similar 
sensible  lines.  It  certainly  arouses  admiration  to 
see  what  the  Russians  can  do  and  how  well  they 
can  do  it  with  ridiculously  small  capital,  when 
we  waste,  absolutely  waste,  immense  sums  and 
accomplish  nothing,  or  even  the  reverse  of  what 
we  intend  to  accomplish.  But  there  again  is  the 
difference  between  the  observant  and  the  unob- 
servant man. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

Persia's  industrial,  mineral  and  agricultural  resources — Climate 
of  various  districts — Ghilan's  trade — Teheran  and  the 
surrounding  country — Khorassan  and  Sistan — The  Caspian 
provinces — Mazanderan,  Astrabad  and  Azerbaijan — Russian 
activity  and  concessions  in  Azerbaijan — Hamadan — The 
Malayer  and  Borujird  districts — The  nomads  of  Kurdistan 
— Naphtha — The  tribes  of  Pusht--i-kuh — The  pastoral 
people  of  Luristan  —  Arabistan  —  PVsistan  —  Laristan — 
Shiraz  wines — Persian  Beluchistan. 

The  geographical  situation  of  Persia,  its  extent, 
the  altitude  of  its  plateau  above  the  sea  level,  its 
vast  deserts  and  its  mountain  ranges,  give  the 
country  a  good  selection  of  climates,  tempera- 
tures and  vegetation.  We  have  regions  of  intense 
tropical  heat  and  of  almost  arctic  cold,  we  have 
temperate  regions,  we  have  healthy  regions, 
and  regions  where  everybody  is  fever-stricken. 
Regions  with  moist  air,  plenty  of  water,  and  big 
marshes,  and  dreary  waterless  deserts. 

Necessarily  such  natural  conditions  are  bound 
to  give  a  great  variety  of  resources  which  show 
themselves  in  various  guises.  A  quick  survey  of 
the  agricultural,  industrial  and  mineral  resources 
of  the  principal  provinces  of  Persia  according  to 
up-to-date   information  may  not  be  out  of  place. 


i84  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and    will    help    the    reader    to    appreciate    the 
journey  through  some  of  the  districts  mentioned. 

We  have  already  been  through  Ghilan  with 
its  almost  temperate  climate  in  the  lowlands,  but 
damp  in  the  northern  portion,  where  fever  is 
rampant,  but  where,  at  the  same  time,  luxuriant 
vegetation  with  thick  forests,  grass  in  abundance, 
paddy  fields  for  the  extensive  cultivation  of  rice, 
olive-groves,  vineyards,  cotton,  wheat,  tobacco, 
sugar-cane,  fruit  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables 
flourish ;  while  the  production  of  silk  for  export 
on  a  large  and  fast-increasing  scale — it  might  be 
increased  enormously  if  more  modern  methods 
were  adopted — and  wool  and  cotton  fabrics, 
mostly  for  the  Persian  market,  are  manufactured. 
It  exports,  mostly  to  Russia,  great  quantities  of 
dried  fruit,  wool,  cotton,  and  tobacco  (made  into 
cigarettes),  salt  fish,  caviare  and  oil. 

South-east  of  Ghilan  we  find  Teheran  on  a 
high  plateau,  its  situation  giving  it  a  delightful 
and  healthy  climate,  but  very  scanty  agricultural 
resources  owing  to  lack  of  water.  In  and  near 
the  capital  city  there  are  good  gardens,  grown  at 
considerable  expense  and  trouble,  but  very  little 
other  vegetation.  We  have  seen  in  previous 
chapters  what  the  industries  of  the  capital,  both 
native  and  foreign,  are,  and  what  they  amount 
to  ;  there  is  also  a  manufacture  of  glazed  tiles, 
quite  artistic,  but  not  to  be  compared  in  beauty 
of  design,  colour  and  gloss  with  the  ancient 
ones.  Teheran  is  dependent  on  the  neighbour- 
ing provinces  and  Europe  for  nearly  everything. 
This  is  not,  however,  the  case  with   Isfahan, 


xviri  KHORASSAN   AND  SISTAN  185 

the  ancient  capital,  in  the  province  of  which 
cotton,  wheat,  Indian  corn,  tobacco  and  opium 
are  grown  in  fair  quantities,  the  last-named  for 
export.  Mules  and  horses  are  reared,  and  there 
are  several  flourishing  industries,  such  as  carpet- 
making,  metal  work,  leather  tanneries,  gold  and 
silver  work,  and  silk  and  wool  fabrics. 

To  the  east  we  have  Khorassan  and  Sistan,  a 
great  wheat-growing  country  with  some  good 
pastures,  and  also  producing  opium,  sugar-cane, 
dates  and  cotton.  In  summer  the  northerly 
winds  sweeping  over  the  desert  are  unbearable, 
and  the  winter  is  intensely  cold.  In  the  northern 
part  of  Khorassan  snow  falls  during  the  coldest 
months,  but  in  Sistan  the  winter  is  temperate. 
Life  is  extremely  cheap  for  natives  in  Sistan, 
which  is  a  favourite  resort  for  camel  men  and 
their  beasts,  both  from  Afghanistan  and  Belu- 
chistan.  Northern  Khorassan  is  the  great  centre 
of  turquoise  mining  ;  copper  and  coal  are  also 
found  there,  but  its  local  trade,  now  that  the 
export  of  grain  is  forbidden,  is  mostly  in  opium, 
worked  leather,  wool  and  excellent  horses,  whicli 
can  be  purchased  for  very  little  money.  Camels, 
both  loading  and  riding  (or  fast-going  camels)  are 
also  reared  here  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
province,  the  northern  part  being  too  cold  for 
them  in  winter. 

The  handsomest  and  richest  districts  of 
Persia,  but  not  the  healthiest,  are  undoubtedly 
the  northern  ones  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  or 
bordering  on  Russian  territory,  such  as 
Mazaiidcran,  Astrabad,  and   Azerbaijan.      In    the 


1 86  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

first  two,  rice  is  grown  in  large  quantities, 
castor-oil,  wheat,  cotton  and  barley  ;  and  in 
Mazanderan  extensive  pasturages  are  found  on 
the  hills  for  sheep  ;  but  not  so  in  Astrabad,  which, 
owing  to  its  peculiar  formation,  is  exposed  to 
broiling  heat  on  the  sandy  wastes,  and  to  terrific 
cold  on  the  mountains,  but  has  a  fairly  tem- 
perate climate  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
province.  These — if  the  production  of  silk  is 
excepted — are  mostly  agricultural  districts.  At 
one  time  Mazanderan  had  beautiful  forests  which 
are  now  fast  being  destroyed.  Considerable 
bartering  is  carried  on  between  the  towns  and  the 
nomad  tribes,  in  rugs,  carpets,  horses  and  mules, 
against  grain,  rice,  felts  and  woollen  cloths  of 
local  manufacture. 

Azerbaijan,  the  most  northern  province  of 
Persia,  with  Tabriz  as  a  centre,  is  very  rich  in 
agricultural  products,  particularly  in  rice  and 
wheat.  Notwithstanding  the  severe  climate  in 
winter,  when  the  snowfall  is  rather  heavy,  and 
the  thermometer  down  to  20°  below  zero  centi- 
grade in  February,  there  are  good  vineyards  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Tabriz,  and  most  excellent 
vegetables  and  fruit.  Tobacco  is  successfully 
grown  (and  manufactured  for  the  pipe  and  into 
cigarettes).  The  heat  in  summer  is  intense, 
with  hot  winds  and  dust  storms  ;  but  owing  to 
the  altitude  (4,420  feet  at  Tabriz)  the  nights  are 
generally  cool.  In  the  spring  there  are  torrential 
rains,  and  also  towards  the  end  of  the  autumn, 
but  the  months  of  May,  June,  October  and 
November  are  quite  pleasant. 


xviii  TRADE  OF  AZERBAIJAN  187 

The  local  trade  of  Azerbaijan  is  insignificant, 
but  being  on  the  Russian  border  the  transit  trade 
has  of  late  assumed  large  proportions,  and  is 
increasing  fast.  The  importation,  for  instance,  of 
Turkey-reds  by  Russia  is  growing  daily,  and  also 
the  importation  of  silk,  in  cocoons  and  manu- 
factured, velvet,  woollen  goods,  various  cotton 
goods,  raw  wool,  dyes  (such  as  henna,  indigo, 
cochineal  and  others),  and  sugar,  the  principal 
import  of  all.  With  the  exception  of  tea,  indigo 
and  cochineal,  which  come  from  India,  the 
imports  into  Azerbaijan  come  almost  altogether 
from  Russia,  Turkey,  Austria-Hungary  and 
France.  The  Russian  trade  in  sugar  is  enormous 
from  this  quarter. 

The  carpet  trade,  which  at  one  time  seemed  to 
be  dying  out,  is  now  about  to  enter  on  a  pros- 
perous phase  ;  but  not  so  the  wool-weaving, 
which  does  not  go  beyond  the  local  market. 
Firearms  are  manufactured  and  sold  to  the 
Kurds,  and  jewellery  is  made  ;  but  the  principal 
exports  are  dried  fruit,  raisins,  almonds,  pista- 
chios, chiefly  to  Russia  and  Turkey  ;  also  gum, 
oils,  raw  metals  (copper,  iron),  hides,  precious 
stones,  alimentary  products  (honey  and  dried 
vegetables),  various  kinds  of  wood,  live  stock 
(mainly  sheep  and  oxen),  tobacco,  raw  and 
manufactured,  dyes,  and  raw  and  manufactured 
cotton  and  silk,  carpets,  rugs,  and  cloth. 

All  these  exports  are  to  Russia  and  Turkey, 
and  do  not  all  necessarily  come  from  Azerbaijan. 
The  Russians  are  displaying  great  activity  in  this 
province,  and  have  established  an  important  branch 


1 88  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

of  their  *'  Banque  d'Escompte  et  de  Prets  de 
Perse."  They  have  obtained  road,  railway,  and 
mining  concessions,  and  according  to  the  report  of 
our  consul  in  Tabriz,  the  Russian  Bank  makes 
advances,  to  the  extent  of  fifty  per  cent.,  to 
merchants  dealing  in  Russian  goods,  especially 
to  native  exporters  of  dried  fruit,  such  advances 
being  repaid  in  Russia  by  the  sale  of  such  pro- 
duce, or  in  Persia  by  the  sale  of  corresponding 
imports  of  manufactured  goods. 

Tabriz  itself,  being  a  centre  of  export  of  the 
produce  of  Northern  Persia,  is  a  promising  field 
for  banking  enterprise,  and  will  assume  greater 
importance  even  than  it  has  now  when  the 
carriage  road  scheme,  a  concession  which  was 
granted  by  the  Shah,  is  completed,  and  furnishes 
easier  communication  for  trade  and  travelling 
purposes.  Russian  engineers  are  said  to  have 
surveyed  and  mapped  the  country  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  railway  system  in  Azerbaijan. 

The  mineral  resources  of  Azerbaijan  are  said 
to  be  considerable,  iron  being  found  in  rich 
deposits  of  hematite  ;  sulphur,  copper  and 
arsenical  pyrites,  bitumen,  lignite,  salt,  mineral, 
ferruginous  and  sulphurous  springs,  and  varie- 
gated marble.  A  similar  geological  formation  is 
found  extending  to  Hamadan,  where  beds  of 
lignite  and  anthracite  exist,  and  fine  marbles  and 
granites  are  to  be  found.  Here,  too,  we  have  a 
trifling  market  for  local  produce,  but  a  con- 
siderable transit  trade  between  the  capital  and 
Kermanshah,  Bagdad  and  Tabriz. 

Hamadan     is     mostly    famous    for    its    capital 


XVIII  NOMADS  189 

tanneries  of  leather  and  for  its  metal  work ;  but 
its  climate  is  probably  the  worst  in  Persia,  if  the 
suffocating  Gulf  coast  is  excepted — intensely  cold 
in  winter  and  spring,  moist  and  rainy  during  the 
rest  of  the  year.  This  produces  good  pasturages 
and  gives  excellent  vegetables,  wine  of  sorts,  and 
a  flourishing  poppy  culture — a  speciality  of  the 
province. 

The  same  remarks  might  apply  to  the 
adjoining  (south)  Malayer  and  Borujird  dis- 
tricts, which,  however,  possess  a  more  temperate 
climate,  although  liable  to  sudden  terrific  storms 
accompanied  by  torrential  rains.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  waste  lands  in  these  regions  ;  but, 
where  irrigated  and  properly  cultivated,  wheat 
flourishes,  as  well  as  fruit  trees,  vines,  vegetables, 
poppies,  cotton  and  tobacco.  The  people  are 
extremely  industrious,  being  occupied  chiefly  in 
carpet-making  for  foreign  export,  and  preparing 
opium  and  dried  fruit,  as  well  as  dyed  cottons. 
Gold  dust  is  said  to  be  found  in  beds  of  streams 
and  traces  of  copper  in  quartz. 

Other  provinces,  such  as  Kurdistan,  are  in- 
habited by  nomadic  peoples,  who  have  a  small 
trade  in  horses,  arms,  opium,  wool  and  dates  ; 
but  the  cultivation  of  land  is  necessarily  much 
neglected  except  for  the  supply  of  local  needs. 
In  many  parts  it  is  almost  impossible,  as  for  five 
or  six  winter  months  the  soil  is  buried  in  snow, 
and  the  heat  of  the  summer  is  unbearable.  There 
seem  to  be  no  intermediate  seasons.  The  people 
live  mostly  on  the  caravan  traffic  from  Bagdad  to 
various  trading  centres  of  Persia,  and  they  maim- 


I90  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

facture  coarse  cloths,  rugs  and  earthenware  of 
comparatively  little  marketable  value.  Naphtha 
does  exist,  as  well  as  other  bituminous  springs, 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  quantity  is  sufficient 
and  whether  the  naphtha  wells  are  accessible 
enough  to  pay  for  their  exploitation. 

That  naphtha  does  exist,  not  only  in  Kurdistan, 
but  in  Pusht-i-kuh,  Luristan,  and  all  along  the 
zone  extending  south  of  the  Caucasus,  is  possible  ; 
but  whether  those  who  bore  wells  for  oil  in  those 
regions  will  make  fortunes  similar  to  those  made 
in  the  extraordinarily  rich  and  exceptionally 
situated  Baku  region,  is  a  diffisrent  matter  alto- 
gether, which  only  the  future  can  show. 

The  tribes  of  Pusht-i-kuh  are  somewhat  wild 
and  unreliable.  On  the  mountain  sides  are 
capital  pasturages.  A  certain  amount  of  grain, 
tobacco  and  fruit  are  grown,  principally  for  local 
consumption. 

In  Luristan,  too,  we  have  partly  a  nomad 
pastoral  population.  Being  a  mountainous  re- 
gion there  are  extremes  of  temperature.  In  the 
plains  the  heat  is  terrific  ;  but  higher  up  the 
climate  is  temperate  and  conducive  to  good  pas- 
turages and  even  forests.  As  in  the  Pusht-i-kuh 
mountain  district,  here,  too,  wheat,  rice  and 
barley  are  grown  successfully  in  huge  quantities, 
and  the  vine  flourishes  at  certain  altitudes  as  well  as 
fruit  trees.  The  local  commerce  consists  principally 
in  live  stock,  the  horses  being  quite  good,  and 
there  is  a  brisk  trade  in  arms  and  ammunition. 

There  remain  now  the  large  districts  of 
Khuzistan,  better  known  as  Arabistan,  Farsistan 


wS 


^ 


■s^ 


■■^' 


MiM 


Saiiih   IJivan,  who  was  al   various  pciioils  ( iovcri. or  ' if  Sliiia/ and  Klioiassan. 


XVIII  SHIRAZ  WINES  191 

and  Laristan.  The  heat  in  these  provinces  is 
terrible  during  the  summer,  and  the  latter  district 
is  further  exposed  to  the  Scirocco  winds  of  the 
Gulf,  carrying  with  them  suffocating  sand  clouds. 
If  properly  developed,  and  if  the  barrage  of  the 
Karun  river  at  Ahwaz  were  put  in  thorough 
repair,  the  plains  of  Arabistan  could  be  made  the 
richest  in  Persia.  Wheat,  rice  and  forage  were 
grown  in  enormous  quantities  at  one  time,  and 
cotton,  tobacco,  henna,  indigo  and  sugar-cane. 
But  this  region,  being  of  special  interest  to  Britain, 
a  special  chapter  is  devoted  to  it,  as  well  as  to 
the  possibilities  of  Farsistan  and  Laristan,  to 
which  future  reference  will  be  made. 

The  trade  in  Shiraz  wines  is  fairly  developed, 
and  they  are  renowned  all  over  Persia.  Consider- 
ing the  primitive  method  in  which  they  are 
made  they  are  really  excellent,  especially  when 
properly  matured.  The  better  ones  resemble 
rich  sherries,  Madeira  and  port  wine. 

Indigo,  horses,  mules  and  carpets  form  the 
trade  of  the  province  which,  they  say,  possesses 
undeveloped  mineral  resources  such  as  sulphur, 
lead,  presumed  deposits  of  coal,  mercury,  anti- 
mony and  nickel. 

Persian  Beluchistan  is  quite  undeveloped  so  far, 
and  mostly  inhabited  by  nomad  tribes,  somewhat 
brigand-like  in  many  parts  and  difficult  to  deal 
with.  They  manufacture  rugs  and  saddle-bags 
and  breed  good  horses  and  sheep.  Their  trade  is 
insignificant,  and  a  good  deal  of  their  country  is 
barren.  The  climate  is  very  hot,  and  in  many 
parts  most  unhcahhy. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

A  Persian  wedding — Polygamy — Seclusion  of  women — Match- 
makers— Subterfuges — The  Nomzad^  or  official  betrothal 
day — The  wedding  ceremony  in  the  harem — For  luck — 
The  wedding  procession— Festival — Sacrifices  of  sheep 
and  camels — The  last  obstacle,  the  ruJvnah — The  bride's 
endowment — The  bridegroom's  settlement — Divorces — 
A  famous  well  for  unfaithful  women — Women's  in- 
fluence— Division  of  property. 

The  general  European  idea  about  Persian 
matrimonial  affairs  is  about  as  inaccurate  as  is 
nearly  every  other  European  popular  notion  of 
Eastern  customs.  We  hear  a  great  deal  about 
Harems,  and  we  fancy  that  every  Persian  must 
have  dozens  of  wives,  while  there  are  people 
who  seriously  believe  that  the  Shah  has  no  less 
than  one  wife  for  each  day  of  the  year,  or  365 
in  all  !  That  is  all  very  pretty  fiction,  but  differs 
considerably  from  real  facts. 

First  of  all,  it  may  be  well  to  repeat  that  by 
the  Mahommedan  doctrine  no  man  can  have 
more  than  four  wives,  and  this  on  the  specified 
condition  that  he  is  able  to  keep  them  in  com- 
fort, in  separate  houses,  with  separate  attendants, 
separate  personal  jewellery,  and  that  he  will  look 
upon  them  equally,  showing  no  special  favour  to 


CH.  XIX  POLYGAMY 


193 


any  of  them  which  may  be  the  cause  of  jealousy 
or  envy.  All  these  conditions  make  it  well-nigh 
impossible  for  any  man  of  sound  judgment  to 
embark  in  polygamy.  Most  well-to-do  Persians, 
therefore,  only  have  one  wife. 

Another  important  matter  to  be  taken  into 
consideration  is,  that  no  Persian  woman  of  a 
good  family  will  ever  marry  a  man  who  is 
already  married.  So  that  the  chances  of  legal 
polygamy  become  at  once  very  small  indeed  in 
young  men  of  the  better  classes,  who  do  not  wish 
to  ruin  their  career  by  marrying  below  their 
own  level. 

An  exception  should  be  made  with  the  lower 
and  wealthy  middle  classes,  who  find  a  satisfac- 
tion in  numbers  to  make  up  for  quality,  and  who 
are  the  real  polygamists  of  the  country.  But 
even  in  their  case  the  real  wives  are  never  numer- 
ous— never  above  the  number  permitted  by  the 
Koran, — the  others  being  merely  concubines, 
whether  temporary  or  permanent.  The  Shah 
himself  has  no  more  than  one  first  wife,  with 
two  or  three  secondary  ones. 

In  a  country  where  women  are  kept  in  strict 
seclusion  as  they  are  in  Persia,  the  arrangement 
of  matrimony  is  rather  a  complicated  matter. 
Everybody  knows  that  in  Mussulman  countries 
a  girl  can  only  be  seen  by  her  nearest  relations, 
who  by  law  cannot  marry  her,  such  as  her  father, 
grandfather,  brothers  and  uncles — but  not  by  her 
cousins,  for  weddings  betweeen  cousins  are  very 
frequentlv  arranged  in  Persia. 

It    falls    upon    the   mother    or    sisters    of   the 

VOL.   I  o 


194  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

would-be  bridegroom  to  pick  a  suitable  girl  for 
him,  as  a  rule,  among  folks  of  their  own  class, 
and  report  to  him  in  glowing  terms  of  her  charms, 
social  and  financial  advantages.  If  he  has 
no  mother  and  sisters,  then  a  complaisant  old 
lady  friend  of  the  family  undertakes  to  act  as 
middlewoman.  There  are  also  women  who  are 
professional  match-makers — quite  a  remunerative 
Hne  of  business,  I  am  told.  Anyhow,  when  the 
young  man  has  been  sufficiently  allured  into 
matrimonial  ideas,  if  he  has  any  common  sense 
he  generally  wishes  to  see  the  girl  before  saying 
yes  or  no.     This  is  arranged  by  a  subterfuge. 

The  women  of  the  house  invite  the  girl  to 
their  home,  and  the  young  fellow  is  hidden 
behind  a  screen  or  a  window  or  a  wall,  wherein 
convenient  apertures  have  been  made  for  him, 
unperceived,  to  have  a  good  look  at  the  pro- 
posed young  lady.  This  is  done  several  times 
until  the  boy  is  quite  satisfied  that  he  likes  her. 

The  primary  difficulty  being  settled,  his 
relations  proceed  on  a  visit  to  the  girl's  father 
and  mother,  and  ask  them  to  favour  their  son 
with  their  daughter's  hand. 

If  the  young  man  is  considered  well  off,  well- 
to-do,  sober  and  eHgible  in  every  way,  consent  is 
given.  A  day  is  arranged  for  the  Nomzad — the 
official  betrothal  day.  All  the  relations,  friends 
and  acquaintances  of  the  two  famihes  are  invited, 
and  the  women  are  entertained  in  the  harem 
while  the  men  sit  outside  in  the  handsome  courts 
and  gardens.  The  bridegroom's  relations  have 
brought  with  them  presents  of  jewellery,  accord- 


XIX  THE  WEDDING  CEREMONY  195 

ing  to  their  means  and  positions  in  life,  with  a 
number  or  expensive  shawls,  five,  six,  seven  or 
more,  and  a  mirror.  Also  some  large  trays  of 
candied  sugar. 

After  a  great  consumption  of  tea,  sherbet,  and 
sweets,  the  young  man  is  publicly  proclaimed 
suitable  for  the  girl.  Music  and  dancing 
(by  professionals)  are  lavishly  provided  for  the 
entertainment  of  guests,  on  a  large  or  small 
scale,  according  to  the  position  of  the  parents. 

Some  time  elapses  between  this  first  stage  of  a 
young  man's  doom  and  the  ceremony  for  the 
legal  contract  and  actual  vv^edding.  There  is  no 
special  period  of  time  specified,  and  the  parties 
can  well  please  themselves  as  to  the  time  when 
the  nuptial  union  is  to  be  finally  effected. 

When  the  day  comes  the  parties  do  not  go  to 
the  mosque  nor  the  convenient  registry  office — 
Persia  is  not  yet  civilised  enough  for  the  latter — 
but  a  Mujtelied  or  high  priest  is  sent  for,  who 
brings  with  him  a  great  many  other  Mullahs,  the 
number  in  due  proportion  to  the  prospective 
backshish  they  are  to  receive  for  their  services. 

The  wedding  ceremony  takes  place  in  the 
bride's  house,  where  on  the  appointed  day  bands, 
dancing,  singing,  and  sweets  in  profusion  are 
provided  for  the  great  number  of  guests  invited. 

The  high  priest  eventually  adjourns  to  the 
harem,  where  all  the  women  have  collected  with 
the  bride,  the  room  being  partitioned  off  with  a 
curtain  behind  which  the  women  sit.  The  bride 
and  her  mother  (or  other  lady)  occupy  seats 
directly  behind  the  curtain,  while  the  priest  with 

o   2 


196  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

the  bridegroom    and  his  relations  take  places  in 
the  vacant  portion  of  the  room. 

The  priest  in  a  stentorian  voice  calls  out  to  the 

girl  : — 

"This  young  man,  son  of  so-and-so,  etc.,  etc., 
v^ants  to  be  your  slave.  Will  you  accept  him  as 
your  slave  .?  " 

(No  reply.  Trepidation  on  the  bridegroom's 
part.) 

The  priest  repeats  his  question  in  a  yet  more 
stentorian  voice. 

Again  no  reply.  The  women  collect  round 
the  bride  and  try  to  induce  her  to  answer.  They 
stroke  her  on  her  back,  and  caress  her  face,  but 
she  sulks  and  is  shy  and  plays  with  her  dress,  but 
says  nothing.  When  the  buzzing  noise  of  the 
excited  women-folk  behind  the  curtain  has 
subsided,  the  priest  returns  to  his  charge,  while 
the  expectant  bridegroom  undergoes  the  worst 
quarter  of  an  hour  of  his  life. 

The  third  time  of  asking  is  generally  the  last, 
and  twice  the  girl  has  already  not  answered.  It 
is  a  terrible  moment.  Evidently  she  is  not  over 
anxious  to  bring  about  the  alliance,  or  is  the 
reluctance  a  mere  feminine  expedient  to  make  it 
understood  from  the  beginning  that  she  is  only 
conferring  a  great  favour  on  the  bridegroom  by 
condescending  to  marry  him  ?  The  latter  hypo- 
thesis is  correct,  for  when  the  priest  thunders  for 
the  third  time  his  former  question,  a  faint  voice — 
after  a  tantalizing  delay — is  heard  to  say  "  Yes." 

The  bridegroom,  now  that  this  cruel  ordeal  is 
over,  begins  to  breathe  again. 


XIX  LEGAL   HUSBAND 


197 


The  priest  is  not  yet  through  his  work,  and 
further  asks  the  girl  whether  she  said  "  Yes  " 
out  of  her  will,  or  was  forced  to  say  it.  Then 
he  appeals  to  the  women  near  her  to  testify  that 
this  was  so,  and  that  the  voice  he  heard  behind 
the  curtain  was  actually  the  girl's  voice.  These 
various  important  points  being  duly  ascertained, 
in  appropriate  Arabic  words  the  priest  exclaims  : 

"  I  have  married  this  young  lady  to  this  man 
and  this  man  to  this  young  lady." 

The  men  present  on  one  side  of  the  curtain 
nod  and  (in  Arabic)  say  they  accept  the  arrange- 
ment. The  women  are  overheard  to  say  words 
to  the  same  effect  from  the  other  side  of  the 
partition.  Congratulations  are  exchanged,  and 
more  sherbet,  tea  and  sweets  consumed. 

The  religious  ceremony  is  over,  but  not  the 
trials  of  the  bridegroom,  now  legal  husband. 

When  sufficient  time  has  elapsed  for  him  to 
recover  from  his  previous  mental  anguish,  he  is 
conveyed  by  his  mother  or  women  relatives  into 
the  harem.  All  the  women  are  veiled  and  line 
the  walls  of  the  drawing-room,  where  a  solitary 
chair  or  cushion  on  the  floor  is  placed  at  the  end 
of  the  room.  He  is  requested  to  sit  upon  it, 
which  he  meekly  does.  A  small  tray  is  now 
brought  in  with  tiny  little  gold  coins  (silver  if 
the  people  are  poor)  mixed  with  sweets.  The 
bridegroom  bends  his  head  ;  and  sweets  and 
coins  are  poured  upon  his  back  and  shoulders. 
Being  round — the  coins,  not  the  shoulders — 
they  run  about  and  are  scattered  all  over  the 
room.      All   the   ladies   present    gracefully   stoop 


198  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and  seize  one  pellet  of  gold,  which  is  kept  for 
good  luck  ;  then  servants  are  called  in  to  collect 
the  remainder  which  goes  to  their  special 
benefit. 

This  custom  is  not  unlike  our  flinging  rice  for 
luck  at  a  married  couple. 

The  bridegroom  then  returns  to  the  men's 
quarters,  where  he  receives  the  hearty  con- 
gratulations of  relatives  and  friends   alike. 

From  this  moment  the  girl  becomes  his  wife, 
and  the  husband  has  the  right  to  see  her  when- 
ever he  chooses,  but -not  to  cohabit  with  her 
until  further  ordeals  have  been  gone  through. 

The  husband  comes  to  meet  his  wife  for  con- 
versation's sake  in  a  specially  reserved  room  in 
the  harem,  and  each  time  he  comes  he  brings 
presents  of  jewellery  or  silks  or  other  valuables 
to  ingratiate  himself.  So  that,  by  the  time  the 
real  wedding  takes  place,  they  can  get  to  be 
quite  fond  of  one  another. 

There  is  no  special  limit  of  time  for  the  last 
ceremony  to  be  celebrated.  It  is  merely  suited 
to  the  convenience  of  the  parties  when  all  neces- 
sary arrangements  are  settled,  and  circumstances 
permit. 

Usually  for  ten  days  or  less  before  the  wedding 
procession  takes  place  a  festival  is  held  in  the 
bridegroom's  house,  when  the  Mullahs,  the 
friends,  acquaintances,  relations  and  neighbours 
are  invited — fresh  guests  being  entertained  on 
each  night.  Music,  dancing,  and  lavish  refresh- 
ments are  again  provided  for  the  guests.  The 
men,  of  course,  are  entertained  separately  in   the 


XIX  THE  BRIDE'S  PROCESSION  199 

men's  quarter,  and  the  women  have  some  fun  all 
to  themselves  in  the  harem. 

On  the  very  last  evening  of  the  festival  a 
grand  procession  is  formed  in  order  to  convey 
the  bride  from  her  house  to  that  of  her  husband. 
He,  the  husband,  waits  for  her  at  his  residence, 
where  he  is  busy  entertaining  guests. 

All  the  bridegroom's  relations,  with  smart 
carriages — and,  if  he  is  in  some  official  position, 
as  most  Persians  of  good  families  are, — with 
infantry  and  cavalry  soldiers,  bands  and  a  large 
following  of  friends  and  servants  on  horseback 
and  on  foot  proceed  to  the  bride's  house. 

A  special  carriage  is  reserved  for  the  bride  and 
her  mother  or  old  lady  relation,  and  another  for 
the  bridesmaids.  She  is  triumphantly  brought 
back  to  the  bridegroom's  house,  her  relations 
and  friends  adding  to  the  number  in  the 
procession. 

Guns  are  fired  and  fireworks  let  off  along  the 
road  and  from  the  bride's  and  bridegroom's 
houses.  One  good  feature  of  all  Persian 
festivities  is  that  the  poor  are  never  forgotten. 
So,  when  the  bride  is  driven  along  the  streets,  a 
great  many  sheep  and  camels  are  sacrificed  before 
her  carriage  to  bring  the  bride  luck  and  to  feed 
with  their  flesh  the  numberless  people  who  con- 
gregate round  to  divide  the  meat  of  the 
slaughtered  animals.  In  the  house  of  the  bride- 
groom, too,  any  number  of  sheep  are  sacrificed 
and  distributed  among  the  poor. 

There  are  great  rejoicings  when  the  procession 
arrives    at    the    house,  where    the  bridegroom  is 


200  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

anxiously  awaiting  to  receive  his  spouse.  As  she 
alights  from  the  carriage  more  sheep  are  sacri- 
ficed on  the  door-step — and  the  husband,  too,  is 
sacrificed  to  a  certain  extent,  for  again  he  has  to 
content  himself  with  merely  conducting  his  bride 
to  the  harem  and  to  leave  her  there.  It  is  only 
late  in  the  evening,  when  all  the  guests,  stuffed 
with  food,  have  departed,  that  the  husband  is  led 
by  his  best  man  to  a  special  room  prepared  for 
him  and  his  wife  in  the  harem.  The  bride 
comes  in,  heavily  veiled,  in  the  company  of  her 
father  or  some  old  and  revered  relation,  who 
clasps  the  hands  of  husband  and  wife  and  joins 
them  together,  making  a  short  and  appropriate 
speech  of  congratulation  and  good  wishes  for  a 
happy  conjugal  existence.  Then  very  wisely 
retreats. 

There  is  yet  another  obstacle  :  the  removal  of 
the  long  embroidered  veil  which  hangs  grace- 
fully over  the  bride's  head  down  to  her  knees. 
This  difficulty  is  easily  surmounted  by  another 
present  of  jewellery,  known  as  the  rufimuliah  or 
"  reward  for  showing  the  face."  There  is  no 
further  reward  needed  after  that,  and  they  are  at 
last  husband  and  wife,  not  only  in  theory  but  in 
fact. 

True,  some  gold  coins  have  to  be  left  under  the 
furniture  to  appease  expecting  servants,  and  the 
next  day  fresh  trials  have  to  be  endured  by  the 
bride,  who  has  to  receive  her  lady  friends  and 
accept  their  most  hearty  congratulations.  This 
means  more  music,  more  professional  dancing, 
more     sweets,    more    sherbet,    more    tea.       But 


XIX  THE  BRIDE'S  ENDOWMENT  201 

gradually,  even  the  festivities  die  out,  and  wife 
and  husband  can  settle  down  to  a  really  happy, 
quiet,  family  life,  devoid  of  temptations  and  full 
of  fellow-feeling  and  thoughtfulness. 

Ten  days  before  this  last  event  takes  place  the 
wife  is  by  custom  compelled  to  send  to  the 
husband's  house  the  endowment  which  by  her 
contract  she  must  supply  :  the  whole  furniture  of 
the  apartments  complete  from  the  kitchen  to  the 
drawing-room,  both  for  the  man's  quarter  and  for 
her  own.  Besides  this — which  involves  her  in 
considerable  expense — she,  of  course,  further 
conveys  with  her  anything  of  which  she  may  be 
the  rightful  owner.  Her  father,  if  well-off,  will 
frequently  present  her  on  her  wedding-day  with 
one  or  more  villages  or  a  sum  in  cash,  and 
occasionally  will  settle  on  her  what  would  go  to 
her  in  the  usual  course  of  time  after  his  death. 
All  this — in  case  of  divorce  or  litigation — 
remains  the  wife's  property. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  bridegro(jm,  or  his 
parents  for  him,  have  to  settle  a  sum  of  money  on 
the  bride  before  she  consents  to  the  marriage,  and 
this  is  legally  settled  upon  her  by  the  Mullah  in 
the  wedding  contract.  She  has  a  right  to  demand 
it  whenever  she  pleases. 

It  can  be  seen  by  all  this  that  a  Persian  legal 
marriage  is  not  a  simple  matter  nor  a  cheap 
undertaking.  The  expense  and  formalities 
connected  with  each  wedding  are  enormous,  so 
that  even  if  people  were  inclined  to  polygamy  it  is 
really  most  difficult  for  them  to  carry  their  desire 
into  efiect.      Among  the   nobility  it  has  become 


202  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

unfashionable     and    is    to-day    considered    quite 
immoral  to  have  more  than  one  wife. 

Partly  because  the  marriages  are  seldom  the 
outcome  of  irresistible — but  fast  burning  out — 
love  ;  partly  because  it  is  difficult  for  a  husband 
and  almost  impossible  for  a  wife  to  be  unfaithful, 
divorces  in  Persia  are  not  common.  Besides,  on 
divorcing  a  wife,  the  husband  has  to  pay  her  in  full 
the  settlement  that  has  been  made  upon  her,  and 
this  prevents  many  a  rash  attempt  to  get  rid  of 
one's  better-half.  To  kill  an  unfaithful  wife  is, 
in  the  eyes  of  Persians,  a  cheaper  and  less  degrad- 
ing way  of  obtaining  justice  against  an  unpardon- 
able wrong. 

One  hears  a  good  deal  in  Persia  about  a  fam- 
ous and  extraordinarily  deep  well — near  Shiraz, 
I  believe — into  which  untrue  wives  were  preci- 
pitated by  their  respective  offended  husbands,  or 
by  the  public  executioner  ;  and  also  how  dis- 
honoured women  are  occasionally  stoned  to 
death  ;  but  these  cases  are  not  very  frequent 
nowadays.  The  Persian  woman  is  above  all 
her  husband's  most  intimate  friend.  He  con- 
fides all — or  nearly  all — his  secrets  to  her.  She 
does  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same  with  him. 
Their  interests  are  mutual,  and  the  love  for  their 
own  children  unbounded.  Each  couple  abso- 
lutely severed  from  the  outside  world,  forbidden 
to  get  intoxicated  by  their  religion,  with  no 
excitements  to  speak  of,  and  the  wife  in  strict 
seclusion — there  is  really  no  alternative  left  for 
them  than  to  be  virtuous.  Women  have  in 
Persia,  as  in  other  countries,  great  influence  over 


XIX         AT   THE    HUSBAND'S   DEATH         203 

their  respective  husbands,  and  through  these 
mediums  feminine  power  extends  very  far,  both 
in  politics  and  commerce. 

At  the  husband's  death  the  property  is  divided 
among  his  children,  each  male  child  taking  two 
shares  to  each  one  share  for  every  girl's  part, 
after  one-eighth  of  the  whole  property  has  been 
paid  to  the  deceased's  widow,  who  is  entitled  to 
that  amount  by  right. 

Most  praiseworthy  union  exists  in  most  Per- 
sian families,  filial  love  and  veneration  for  parents 
being  quite  as  strong  as  paternal  or  maternal 
affection.  Extreme  reverence  for  old  age  in  any 
class  of  man  is  another  trait  to  be  admired  in  the 
Persian  character. 


CHAPTER   XX 

Persian  women — Their  anatomy — Their  eyes — Surmah — 
Age  of  puberty — The  descendants  of  Mohammed — Infanti- 
cide—Circumcision— Deformities  and  abnormalities — The 
ear — The  teeth  and  dentistry — The  nose — A  Persian 
woman's  indoor  dress — The  yel — The  tadji  and  other 
jewels — Out-of-door  dress — The  Chakchur — The  ruh-band 
— The  Chudder. 

Persia,  they  say,  is  the  country  of  the  lovehest 
women  in  the  world.  It  probably  has  that  repu- 
tation because  few  foreign  male  judges  have  ever 
seen  them.  The  Persians  themselves  certainly 
would  prefer  them  to  any  other  women.  Still, 
there  is  no  doubt,  from  what  Httle  one  sees  of 
the  Persian  woman,  that  she  often  possesses  very 
beautiful  languid  eyes,  with  a  good  deal  of 
animal  magnetism  in  them.  Her  skin  is  ex- 
tremely fair — as  white  as  that  of  an  ItaUan 
or  a  French  woman — with  a  slight  yellowish 
tint  which  is  attractive.  They  possess  when 
young  very  well  modelled  arms  and  legs,  the 
only  fault  to  be  found  among  the  majority  of 
them  being  the  frequent  thickness  of  the  wrists 
and  ankles,  which  rather  takes  away  from  their 
refinement.  In  the  very  highest  classes  this  is 
not  so  accentuated.     The  women  are  usually  of 


cH.xx  PERSIAN  WOMAN  ANATOMICALLY  205 

a  fair  height,  not  too  small,  and  carry  them- 
selves fairly  well,  particularly  the  women  of  the 
lower  classes  who  are  accustomed  to  carry 
weights  on  their  head.  The  better-off  women 
walk  badly,  with  long  steps  and  a  consequent 
stoop  forward  ;  whereas  the  poorer  ones  walk 
more  firmly  with  a  movement  of  the  hips  and 
with  the  spine  well  arched  inwards.  The  neck 
lacks  length,  but  is  nicely  rounded,  and  the  head 
v/ell  set  on  the  shoulders. 

Anatomically,  the  body  is  not  striking  either 
for  its  beauty  or  its  strength  or  suppleness.  The 
breasts,  except  with  girls  of  a  very  tender  age, 
become  deformed,  and  very  pendant,  and  the 
great  tendency  to  fatness  rather  interferes  with 
the  artistic  beauty  of  their  outlines. 

The  skeleton  frame  of  a  Persian  woman  is 
curiously  constructed,  the  hip-bones  being  ex- 
tremely developed  and  broad,  whereas  the  shoulder 
blades  and  shoulders  altogether  are  very  narrow 
and  undeveloped.  The  hands  and  feet  are  gene- 
rally good,  particularly  the  hand,  which  is  less 
developed  and  not  so  coarse  as  the  lower  limbs 
generally  and  the  feet  in  particulan.  The  fingers 
are  usually  long  and  quite  supple,  with  well- 
proportioned  nails.  The  thumb  is,  nevertheless, 
hardly  ever  in  good  proportion  with  the  rest  of 
the  hand.  It  generally  lacks  length  and  character. 
The  feet  bear  the  same  characteristics  as  the  hands 
except,  as  I  have  said,  that  they  are  infinitely 
coarser.  Why  this  should  be  1  cannot  explain, 
except  that  intermarriage  with  different  races 
and  social  requirements  may  be  the  cause  of  it. 


2o6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  head  I  have  left  to  the  last,  because  it  is 
from   an   artist's    point   of   view    the    most    pic- 
turesque part    of  a    Persian   woman's  anatomy. 
It  may  possibly  lack  fine  chiselled  features  and 
angularity  ;   and  the  first  impression  one  receives 
on  looking  at  a  Persian  woman's  face  is  that   it 
wants  strength  and  character — all  the  lines  of  the 
face   being   broad,   uninterrupted  curves.       The 
nose  is  broad  and  rounded,  the  cheeks  round,  the 
chin  round,  the  lips  large,  voluptuous  and  round 
— very  seldom  tightly  closed  ;  in  fact,  the  lower 
lip  is  frequently  drooping.      But  when  it  comes 
to  eyes,   eyelashes   and   eyebrows,  there   are  few 
women  in  the  world  who  can  compete  with  the 
Persian.     There  is  exuberant  fire  and  expression 
in  the   Persian   feminine  organs  of  vision,  large 
and   almond-shaped,   well-cut,   and    softened    by 
eyelashes  of  abnormal  length,  both  on  the  upper 
and  lower  lid.     The  powerful,  gracefully-curved 
eyebrows    extend   far   into    the    temples,   where 
they  end   into  a  fine  point,  from  the  nose,  over 
which   they    are    very   frequently  joined.      The 
iris  of  the  eye  is  abnormally  large,  of  very  rich 
dark  velvety  brown,  with  jet  black  pupils,  and 
the  so-called  "  white  of  the  eye  "  is  of  a  much 
darker    tinge    than    with    Europeans — almost    a 
light  bluish    grey.     The   women    seem   to   have 
wonderful  control  over  the  muscles  of  the  eyelids 
and  brows,  which    render   the  eyes  dangerously 
expressive.     The  habit  of  artificially  blackening 
the    under   lid    with    Surmah^   too,   adds,   to   no 
mean  extent,  to  the  luminosity  and  vivid  power 
of   the    eyes    in    contrast    to    the    alabaster-like. 


Persian  Wo.ma.n  amj  Child. 


A    I'K  I  iKKMiiK   l!i:(;(;Ak   ( iiui 


XX  THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  MAHOMMED  207 

really    beautiful    skin    of    the    younger    Persian 
women. 

I  said  "  younger,"  for  owing  to  racial  and 
climatic  conditions  the  Persian  female  is  a  full- 
grown  woman  in  every  way  at  the  age  of  ten  or 
twelve,  sometimes  even  younger.  They  generally 
keep  in  good  compact  condition  until  they  are 
about  twenty  or  twenty-iive,  when  the  fast  ex- 
panding process  begins,  deforming  even  the  most 
beautiful  into  shapeless  masses  of  flesh  and  fat. 
They  are  said,  however,  to  be  capable  of  bearing 
children  till  the  mature  age  of  forty  to  forty-five, 
although  from  my  own  observation  thirty-five  to 
forty  I  should  take  to  be  the  more  common 
average  at  which  Persian  women  are  in  full 
possession  of  prolific  powers. 

In  the  case  of  Savids,  the  descendants  of 
Mahommed,  both  sexes  of  whom  are  reputed 
for  their  extraordinary  powers  and  vitality, 
women  are  said  not  to  become  sterile  till  after 
the  age  of  fifty. 

Whether  this  is  a  fact  or  not,  I  cannot  say, 
but  it  is  certain  that  the  Sayids  are  a  superior 
race  altogether,  more  wiry  and  less  given  to 
orgies — drinking  and  smoking, — which  may 
account  for  their  natural  powers  being  preserved 
to  a  later  age  than  with  most  other  natives  of 
Persia.  Their  women  are  very  prolific.  Sayid 
men  and  women  are  noticeable  even  from  a  tender 
age  for  their  robustness  and  handsome  features. 
They  are  dignified  and  serious  in  their  de- 
meanour, honest  and  trustworthy,  and  are  a  fine 
race  altogether. 


2o8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Infanticide  after  birth  is  not  very  common  in 
Persia,  but  abortion  artifically  procured  has, 
particularly  of  late,  become  frequent  for  the 
prevention  of  large  families  that  cannot  be  sup- 
ported. This  is  done  by  primitive  methods,  not 
dissimilar  to  those  used  in  European  countries. 
Medicine  is  occasionally  also  administered  in- 
ternally. These  cases  are  naturally  illegal,  and 
although  the  law  of  the  country  is  lenient — or, 
rather,  short-sighted — in  such  matters,  any 
palpable  case,  if  discovered,  would  be  severely 
punished. 

The  umbilicus  of  newly-born  children  is  in- 
evitably tied  by  a  doctor  and  not  by  a  member 
of  the  family,  as  with  some  nations.  Cir- 
cumcision is  practised  on  male  children  when 
at  the  age  of  forty  days.  It  is  merely  performed 
as  a  sanitary  precaution,  and  is  not  undergone 
for  religion's  sake. 

There  are  few  countries  where  deformities  and 
abnormalities  are  as  common  as  they  are  in 
Persia.  In  women  less  than  in  men  ;  still,  they 
too  are  afflicted  with  a  good  share  of  Nature's 
freaks.  The  harelip  is  probably  the  most 
common  abnormality.  Webbed  and  additional 
fingers  and  toes  come  next.  Birth-marks  are 
very  common — especially  very  large  black  moles 
on  the  face  and  body. 

Persian  ears  are  very  seldom  beautiful.  They 
are  generally  more  or  less  malformed  and  some- 
what coarse  in  modelling,  although  they  seem  to 
answer  pretty  well  the  purpose  for  which  they 
are   created.      But  although   the  hearing  is  very 


XX  THE  PERSIAN   EAR  209 

good  in  a  general  sense,  I  found  that  the  Persian, 
of  either  sex,  had  great  difficulty  in  differentiating 
very  fine  modulations  of  sounds,  and  this  is 
probably  due  to  the  under-development  or  de- 
generation of  the  auricular  organ,  just  the  same 
as  in  the  ears  of  purely  Anglo-Saxon  races. 

To  an  observant  eye,  to  my  mind,  there  is  no 
part  of  people's  anatomy  that  shows  character 
and  refinement  more  plainly  than  the  ear. 
Much  more  delicate  in  texture  than  the  hands 
or  teet,  the  ear  is,  on  the  other  hand,  less  subject 
to  misleading  modifications  by  artificial  causes 
v^hich  are  bound  to  affect  the  other  extremities. 

The  ear  of  a  Persian  is,  in  the  greater  per- 
centage of  cases,  the  ear  of  a  degenerate.  It  is 
coarse  and  lumpy,  and  somewhat  shapeless,  with 
animal  qualities  strongly  marked  in  it.  Oc- 
casionally one  does  come  across  a  good  ear  in 
Persia,  but  very  rarely. 

Similar  remarks  might  apply  to  teeth.  When 
young,  men  and  women  have  good  teeth,  of 
fairly  good  shape  and  length,  and  frequently  so 
very  firmly  set  in  their  sockets  as  to  allow  their 
possessors  to  lift  heavy  weights  with  them, 
pulling  ropes  tight,  etc.,  when  the  strength  of 
the  hands  is  not  sufficient.  One  frequently 
notices,  however,  irregularity,  or  additional  teeth 
— caused  again  by  intermixture  of  race — the 
upper  teeth  not  fitting  properly  the  lower  ones, 
and  causing  undue  friction,  early  injury  to  the 
enamel,  and  consequent  decay.  This  is  also 
greatly  intensified  by  the  unhealthy  state  of 
Persian  blood,  especially  in  people  inhabiting  the 

vol..  I  p 


2IO  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

cities,  where  the  worst  of  venereal  complaints 
has  crept  in  a  more  or  less  virulent  form  into  the 
greater  part  of  the  population.  Add  to  this,  a 
disorganized  digestion,  coloration  by  constant 
smoking,  and  the  injury  to  the  enamel  brought 
on  by  the  great  consumption  of  sugary  stuff ; 
and  if  one  marvels  at  all  it  is  that  Persian  teeth 
are   as   good  and  serviceable  as  they  are  to  a  fair 

age. 

Native  Persian  dentistry  is  not  in  a  very 
advanced  stage.  With  the  exception  of  ex- 
traction by  primitive  and  painful  methods, 
nothing  efficient  is  done  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
decay. 

The  Persian  nose  is  well  shaped — but  it  is  not 
perfection,  mind  you — and  generally  does  not 
perform  its  duties  in  a  creditable  manner.  It 
has  nearly  all  the  drawbacks  of  civilised  noses. 
Partly  owing  to  defective  digestive  organs  and 
the  escaping  fumes  of  decayed  teeth,  the  nose, 
really  very  well  shaped  in  young  children, 
generally  alters  its  shape  as  they  get  older,  and 
it  becomes  blocked  up  with  mucous  matter, 
causing  it  unduly  to  expand  at  the  bridge,  and 
giving  it  rather  a  stumpy,  fat  appearance.  The 
nostrils  are  not  very  sharply  and  powerfully  cut 
in  most  cases,  and  are  rounded  up  and  undecided, 
a  sign  of  pliant  character. 

Women  have  better  cut  and  healthier  noses 
than  men,  as  they  lead  a  more  wholesome  life. 
In  children  and  young  people,  however,  very 
handsome  noses  are  to  be  seen  in  Persia.  The 
sense  of  odour  is  not  very  keen  in  either  sex  ;   in 


XX  A  SHOCKING   STATEMENT  211 

fact,  it  is  probably  the  dullest  of  all  Persian  senses, 
which  is  not  unfortunate  for  them  in  a  country 
where  potent  smells  abound.  In  experimenting 
upon  healthy  specimens,  it  was  found  that  only 
comparatively  strong  odours  could  be  detected 
by  them,  nor  could  they  distinguish  the  differ- 
ence between  two  different  scents,  when  they 
did  succeed  in  smelling  them  at  all  ! 

A  Persian  woman  is  not  seen  at  her  best  when 
she  is  dressed.  This  sounds  very  shocking,  but 
it  is  quite  true.  Of  all  the  ugly,  inartistic, 
clumsy,  uncomfortable,  tasteless,  absurd  female 
attires,  that  of  the  Persian  lady  ranks  first. 

Let  us  see  a  Persian  lady  indoors,  and  describe 
her  various  garments  in  the  order  in  which  they 
strike  the  observer.  First  of  ail  one's  eye  is 
caught  by  a  "  bundle  "  of  short  skirts — usually  of 
very  bright  colours — sticking  out  at  the  hips, 
and  not  unlike  the  familiar  attire  of  our  ballet 
girls — only  shorter.  These  skirts  are  made  of 
cotton,  silk  or  satin,  according  to  the  lady's 
wealth  and  position. 

There  are  various  versions  of  how  such  a 
fashion  was  adopted  by  Persian  ladies.  It  is  of 
comparatively  modern  importation,  and  up  to 
fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  women  wore  long  skirts 
reaching  down  to  the  ankle.  The  skirts  grad- 
ually got  shorter  and  shorter  as  the  women  got 
more  civilised — so  a  Persian  assures  me — and 
when  Nasr-ed-din  Shah  visited  Europe  and 
brought  back  to  his  harem  the  glowing  ac- 
counts of  the  ladies'  dress — or,  rather,  undress — 
at  the  Empire  and   Alhamhra   music-hall  ballets, 


212  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

which  seem  to  have  much  attracted  him,  the 
women  of  his  court,  in  order  to  compete  with 
their  European  rivals,  and  to  gain  afresh  the 
favour  of  their  sovereign,  immediately  adopted 
a  similar  attire.  Scissors  were  busy,  and  down 
(or  up)  were  the  skirts  reduced  to  a  minimum 
length. 

As  in  other  countries,  fashions  in  men  and 
women  are  copied  from  the  Court,  and  so  the 
women  from  one  end  of  Persia  to  the  other,  in 
the  cities,  took  up  the  hideous  custom.  One  of 
the  principal  points  in  the  fashion  is  that  the 
skirt  must  stick  out  at  the  sides.  These  skirts 
are  occasionally  very  elaborate,  with  heavy  gold 
braiding  round  them,  richly  embroidered,  or 
covered  all  over  with  small  pearls.  The  shape 
of  the  skirt  is  the  same  in  all  classes  of  women, 
but  of  course  the  difference  lies  in  the  material 
with  which  the  dress  is  made. 

Under  the  skirt  appear  two  heavy,  shapeless 
legs,  in  long  foreign  stockings  with  garters,  or 
in  tight  trousers  of  cotton  or  other  light  mate- 
rial— a  most  unseemly  sight.  When  only  the 
family  are  present  the  latter  garments  are  fre- 
quently omitted. 

Perhaps  the  only  attractive  part  of  a  woman's 
indoor  toilet  is  the  neat  zouave  jacket  with 
sleeves,  breast  and  back  profusely  embroidered 
in  gold,  or  with  pearls.  It  is  called  the  yel. 
When  lady  friends  are  expected  to  call,  some 
additions  are  made  to  the  costume.  A  long  veil 
fastened  to  the  belt  and  supported  on  the  pro- 
jecting skirt  hangs  down  to  the  feet.     Sometimes 


XX  JEWELLERY  213 

it  is  left  to  drag  behind.  It  is  quite  transparent, 
and  its  purposeless  use  none  of  my  Persian 
friends  could  explain.  "  The  women  like  it, 
that  is  all,"  was  the  only  answer  I  could  elicit,  and 
that  was  certainly  enough  to  settle  the  matter. 

Persian  women  are  extremely  fond  of  jewellery, 
diamonds,  pearls  and  precious  stones.  On  the 
head,  the  hair  being  plastered  down  with  a  part- 
ing in  the  centre  and  knot  behind  on  the  neck, 
a  diadem  is  worn  by  the  smarter  ladies,  the  tadji. 
Those  who  can  afford  it  have  a  z'^^^v  of  diamonds, 
the  shape  varying  according  to  fashion  ;  others 
display  sprays  of  pearls.  The  tadji  is  a  luxurious, 
heavy  ornament  only  worn  on  grand  occasions  ; 
then  there  is  another  more  commonly  used,  the 
?2i?7i  tadji^  or  small  diadem,  a  lighter  and  hand- 
some feathery  jewel  worn  either  in  the  upper 
centre  of  the  forehead,  or  very  daintily  and  in  a 
most  coquettish  way  on  one  side  of  the  head, 
where  it  really  looks  very  pretty  indeed  against 
the  shiny  jet  black  hair  of  the  wearer. 

Heavy  necklaces  of  gold,  pearls,  turquoises  and 
amber  are  much  in  vogue,  and  also  solid  and 
elaborate  gold  rings  and  bracelets  in  profusion  on 
the  fingers  and  wrists. 

Out  of  doors  women  in  the  cities  look  very 
different  to  what  they  do  indoors,  and  cannot 
be  accused  of  any  outward  immodesty.  One 
suspects  blue  or  black  bag-like  phantoms  whom 
one  meets  in  the  streets  to  be  women,  but  there 
is  really  nothing  to  go  by  to  make  one  sure  of 
it,  for  the  street  costume  of  the  Persian  lady  is 
as  complete  a  disguise  as  was  ever  conceived. 


214  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Before  going  out  a  huge  pair  of  loose  trousers 
or  bloomers — the  chakchur — fastened  at  the  waist 
and  pulled  in  at  the  ankle,  are  assumea,  and  a 
ruh-band — a  thick  calico  or  cotton  piece  of  cloth 
about  a  yard  wide,  hangs  in  front  of  the  face,  a 
small  slit  some  three  to  four  inches  long  and  one 
and  a  half  wide,  very  daintily  netted  with  heavy 
embroidery,  being  left  for  ventilation's  sake  and  as 
a  look-out  window.  This  is  fastened  by  means 
of  a  hook  behind  the  head  to  prevent  its  falling, 
and  is  held  dov/n  with  one  hand  at  the  lov/er  part. 
Over  all  this  the  chudder  —  a  black  or  blue 
piece  of  silk  or  cotton  about  tvs^o  yards  square 
and  matching  the  colour  of  the  trousers,  covers 
the  whole  from  head  to  foot,  and  just  leaves 
enough  room  m  front  for  the  ventilating  paral- 
lelogram. 

In  public  places  this  cloak  is  held  with  the 
spare  hand  quite  close  to  the  chin,  so  that,  with 
the  exception  of  a  mass  of  black  or  blue  clothing 
and  a  tiny  bit  of  white  embroidery  over  the  eyes, 
one  sees  absolutely  nothing  of  the  Persian  woman 
when  she  promenades  about  the  streets.  With 
sloping  shoulders,  broad  hips,  and  huge  bloomers, 
her  silhouette  is  not  unlike  a  soda-water  bottle. 

Her  feet  are  socked  in  white  or  blue,  and  she 
toddles  along  on  dainty  slippers  with  no  back  to 
the  heels.  A  husband  himself  could  not 
recognise  his  wife  out  of  doors,  nor  a  brother 
his  sister,  unless  by  some  special  mark  on  her 
clothing,  such  as  a  spot  of  grease  or  a  patch — 
otherwise,  poor  and  rich,  young  and  old,  are  all 
dressed  alike.      Of  course  the  diadem  and  other 


XX      THE   WAYS  OF   PRETTY  WOMEN     215 

such  ornaments  are  only  worn  in  the  house,  and 
the  chudder  rests  directly  on  the  head. 

Yet  with  some  good  fortune  one  occasionally 
gets  glimpses  of  women's  faces,  for  face-screens 
and  chudders  and  the  rest  of  them  have  their 
ways  of  dropping  occasionally,  or  being  blown 
away  by  convenient  winds,  or  falling  off  un- 
expectedly. But  this  is  only  the  case  with  the 
prettier  women,  the  ugly  old  ones  being  most 
particular  not  to  disillusion  and  disappoint  the 
male  passers-by. 

This  is  possibly  another  reason  why  hasty 
travellers  have  concluded  that  Persian  Vv^omen 
must  all  be  beautiful. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

The  Shah's  birthday — Illuminations — The  Shah  in  his  auto- 
mobile— Ministers  in  audience — Etiquette  at  the  Shah's 
Court — The  Shah  —  A  graceful  speaker — The  Shah's 
directness  of  speech — The  Kajars  and  the  Mullahs — The 
defile  of  troops — A  blaze  of  diamonds. 

There  are  great  rejoicings  in  Teheran  and  all 
over  Persia  on  the  Shah's  birthday  and  the  night 
previous  to  it,  when  grand  illuminations  of  all 
the  principal  buildings,  official  residences  and 
business  concerns  take  place.  Large  sums  of 
money  are  spent  in  decorating  the  buildings 
suitably  on  such  an  auspicious  occasion,  not  as  in 
our  country  with  cheap,  vari-coloured  cotton  rags 
and  paper  floral  ornaments,  but  with  very  hand- 
some carpets,  numberless  looking-glasses  of  all 
sizes  and  shapes,  pictures  in  gold  frames,  plants 
and  fountains.  Nor  are  the  lights  used  of  a 
tawdry  kind.  No,  they  are  the  best  candles  that 
money  can  purchase,  fitted  in  nickel-plated 
candlesticks  with  tulip  globes — thousands  of  them 
— and  crystal  candelabras  of  Austrian  make,  or 
rows  of  paraffin  lamps  hired  for  the  occasion. 

It  is  customary  in  Teheran  even  for  foreign 
business  houses  to  illuminate  their  premises 
lavishly,  and  the  Atabeg  Azam  or  Prime  Minister 


CH.  XXI  ILLUMINATIONS  217 

and  other  high  officials  go  during  the  evening  to 
pay  calls  in  order  to  show  their  appreciation  of 
the  compliment  to  their  sovereign,  and  admire 
the  decorations  of  the  leading  banks  and 
merchants'  buildings. 

In  front  of  each  illuminated  house  carpets  are 
spread  and  a  number  of  chairs  are  prepared  for 
friends  and  guests  w^ho  wish  to  come  and  admire 
the  show.  Sherbet,  tea,  coffee,  whisky,  brandy, 
champagne,  cigarettes  and  all  sorts  of  other 
refreshments  are  provided,  and  by  the  time  you 
have  gone  round  to  inspect  all  the  places  where 
you  have  been  invited,  you  have  been  refreshed 
to  such  an  extent  by  the  people,  who  are  very 
jolly  and  hospitable,  that  you  begin  to  see  the 
illuminations  go  round  you  of  their  own  accord. 

The  show  that  I  witnessed  was  very  interesting 
and  really  well  done,  the  effect  in  the  bazaar, 
with  all  the  lights  reflected  in  the  mirrors, 
and  the  gold  and  carpets  against  the  ancient 
wood-work  of  the  caravanserais,  being  quite 
picturesque.  The  crowds  of  open-mouthed 
natives  were,  as  a  whole,  well  behaved,  and  quite 
amusing  to  watch.  They  seemed  quite  absorbed 
in  studying  the  details  of  each  bit  of  decoration. 
The  Bank  of  Persia  was  decorated  with  much 
artistic  taste.  Side  by  side,  in  the  wind,  two 
enormous  flags — the  British  and  the  Persian — 
flew  on  its  facade. 

Fireworks  were  let  off  till  a  late  hour  of  the 
night  from  various  parts  of  the  town,  and  bands 
and  strolling  musicians  played  in  the  stjuarcs,  in 
the  bazaar,  and  everywhere. 


2i8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  following  morning  the  Shah  came  in 
his  automobile  to  town  from  his  country 
residence,  driven,  as  usual,  by  a  Frenchman. 
The  Persian  and  foreign  Ministers  were  to  be 
received  in  audience  early  in  the  morning,  and 
I  was  to  be  presented  after  by  Sir  Arthur 
Hardinge,  our  Minister  at  the  Shah's  Court. 

The  strict  etiquette  of  any  Court — whether 
European  or  Eastern — does  remind  one  very 
forcibly  of  the  comic  opera,  only  it  is  occasionally 
funnier. 

As  early  as  9  a.m.  we  left  the  Legation  in  a 
procession — all  on  horseback — the  officials  in 
their  diplomatic  uniforms,  with  plenty  of  gold 
braiding,  and  cocked  hats  ;  I  in  my  own  frock- 
coat  and  somebody  else's  tall  hat,  for  mine  had 
unluckily  come  to  grief.  We  rode  along  the 
very  dusty  streets  and  arrived  at  the  Palace, 
where  we  o;ot  off  our  horses.  We  entered  the 
large  court  of  the  Alabaster  Throne.  There 
were  a  great  many  dismounted  cavalry  soldiers, 
and  we  were  then  led  into  a  small  ante-room  on 
the  first  floor  where  all  the  foreign  representatives 
of  other  nations  in  Teheran  were  waiting, 
received  by  a  Persian  high  official. 

We  were  detained  here  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  then  marched  through  the  garden  to 
another  building.  By  the  number  of  pairs  of 
shoes  lining  both  sides  of  the  staircase  in  quad- 
ruple rows,  it  was  evident  that  his  Majesty  had 
many  visitors.  We  were  ushered  into  the 
Jewelled  Globe  Room  adjoining  the  Shah's  small 
reception  room. 


v^^ 


V  V 


Kl'KU  Sui.i  ANKii,    lin.ilicr  of  ilic  i)H.-s(.ni    Sh.ili. 


XXI  THE  SHAH  219 

After  some  adjustment  of  clothes  and  collars 
in  their  correct  positions,  and  of  swords  and 
belts,  the  door  opened  and  the  Ministers  were 
let  in  to  the  Shah's  presence.  One  peculiarity 
of  the  Shah's  court  is  that  it  is  etiquette  to 
appear  before  the  sovereign  with  one's  hat  on, 
and  making  a  military  salute.  In  former  days 
carpet  slippers  were  provided  for  the  Ministers 
to  put  on  over  the  shoes,  but  the  custom  has  of 
late  been  abandoned,  as  it  looked  too  ludicrous, 
even  for  a  court,  to  see  the  ministers,  secretaries, 
and  attaches  in  their  grand  uniforms  dragging 
their  feet  along  for  fear  of  losing  a  pantoufie  on 
the  way. 

There  was  the  usual  speech  of  greeting  and 
congratulation  on  the  part  of  the  doyen  Minister, 
and  presently  the  crowd  of  foreign  representatives 
returned  to  the  ante-room  in  the  most  approved 
style,  walking  backwards  and  stooping  low. 

My  turn  came  next.  As  we  entered,  the  Shah 
was  standing  almost  in  the  centre  of  the  room, 
with  the  familiar  aigrette  in  his  kolah  (black 
headgear)  and  his  chest  a  blaze  of  diamonds. 
He  rested  his  right  hand  on  a  handsome  jewelled 
sword.  He  looked  pale  and  somewhat  worn, 
but  his  features  were  decidedly  handsome,  with- 
out being  powerful.  One  could  plainly  see 
depicted  on  his  face  an  expression  of  extreme 
good-nature — almost  too  soft  and  thoughtful  a 
face  for  a  sovereign  of  an  Eastern  country.  His 
thick  underlip  added  a  certain  amount  of  obstinate 
strength  to  his  features,  which  was  counter- 
balanced  by   the   dreamy,    far-away   look    of  his 


220  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

eyes  heavily  shadowed  by  prominent  lids.  His 
thick  black  eyebrows  and  huge  moustache  were 
in  great  contrast  to  the  Shah's  pallid  face.  EI  is 
Majesty  appeared  bored,  and  was  busy  masti- 
cating a  walnut  when  we  entered,  the  shell  of 
which  lay  in  debris  by  the  side  of  two  additional 
entire  walnuts  and  a  nut-cracker  on  a  small 
jewelled  side-table. 

We  stood  at  attention  with  our  hats  on  while 
Sir  Arthur,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  is  a  linguist  of 
great  distinction,  delivered  to  the  sovereign,  a 
most  charming  and  graceful  speech  in  Persian 
with  an  oriental  fluency  of  flowery  language  that 
nearly  took  my  breath  away. 

The  Shah  seemed  highly  delighted  at  the  nice 
compliments  paid  him  by  our  Minister,  and 
graciously  smiled  in  appreciation.  Then  Sir 
Arthur  broke  forth  in  French — which  he  speaks 
like  a  Frenchman — and  with  astounding  grace 
proceeded  to  the  presentation.  The  Shah  was 
curt  in  his  words  and  much  to  the  point,  and  I 
was  greatly  delighted  at  the  charming  direct- 
ness of  his  remarks.  There  was  no  figure  ot 
speech,  no  tawdry  metaphor  in  the  compliment 
paid  me. 

I  had  presented  his  Majesty  with  two  of  my 
books. 

"  Fous  ecrivez  li'-cres  ?  "  thundered  the  Shah  to 
me  in  lame  French,  as  he  stroked  his  moustache 
in  a  nervous  manner. 

"  Malheur eusement  pour  le  public^  out,  Majeste^' 
(Unfortunately  for  the  public,  yes,  your  Majesty), 
I  replied,  touching  my  hat  in  military  fashion. 


XXI  AN  AUDIENCE  221 

'•  Combten  de  Itvres  avez  vous  ecrits  ?  "  (How 
many  books  have  you  written  ?) 

"  ^latre^  Majeste.'"      (Four,  your  Majesty.) 

"  Combien  livres  avez  vous  envoy e  moi  ?  "  (How 
many  books  have  you  sent  me  ?)  he  roared  again 
in  his  Perso  adaptation  of  French. 

"  DeuXy  Mdjestey      (Two,  your  Majesty.) 

"  Envoyez  encore  deux  autres^  (Send  the  other 
two.)  And  with  a  nod  the  conversation  was 
over,  and  we  retreated  backwards  through  the 
glass  door,  but  not  before  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge 
had  completed  the  interview  with  another  most 
appropriate  and  graceful  little  speech. 

The  foreign  Ministers  departed,  but  I  was 
allowed  to  remain  in  the  Palace  grounds  to  wit- 
ness the  various  native  officials  and  representa- 
tives paying  their  salaams  to  the  Shah. 

After  us  the  foreigners  in  Persian  employ  were 
received  in  audience,  and  it  was  interesting  to 
notice  that  they  had  adopted  the  Persian  head- 
gear, and  some  even  the  Persian  pleated  frock- 
coat.  The  Shah's  reception  room  had  a  very 
large  window  overlooking  the  garden.  The 
glass  was  raised  and  a  throne  was  placed  close 
to  the  edge  of  the  window  on  which  the  Shah 
seated  himself  with  a  kalian  by  his  side. 

Then  began  the  defile'  of  native  representatives. 
The  Kajars  in  their  grand  robes  and  white 
turbans  paraded  before  the  window,  and  then 
forming  a  semicircle  salaamed  the  head  of  their 
family.  One  of  them  stepped  forward  and 
chanted  a  long  poem,  while  the  Shah  pulled 
away   at    the    kalian    and    stroked    his   luxuriant 


2  22  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

moustache.  Every  now  and  then  the  sovereign 
bowed  in  acknowledgment  of  the  good  wishes 
paid  him,  and  his  bow  was  repeated  by  the 
crowd  below  in  the  court.  After  the  Kajars 
came  the  Mullahs.  Again  another  recitation  of 
poetry,  again  more  bows,  more  kalian  smoking. 
Then  foreign  generals  stood  before  the  window, 
and  native  officers.  Court  servants  and  eunuchs. 
The  defile  of  troops,  colleges,  merchant  associa- 
tions and  schools  came  next,  and  was  very 
interesting. 

Persian  Cossacks  in  their  nice  long  white 
uniforms  and  formidable  chest  ornamentations  ; 
bandsmen  with  tin  helmets  and  linoleum  top 
boots  ;  hussars  with  plenty  of  braiding  on  cotton 
coats  and  trousers  ;  infantrymen,  artillerymen, 
military  cadets, — all  were  reviewed  in  turn  by 
his  Majesty,  who  displayed  his  royal  satisfaction 
by  an  occasional  bow. 

There  were  no  shrieks  of  enthusiasm,  no  ap- 
plause, no  hurrahs,  as  they  went,  but  they  all 
walked  past  the  royal  window  in  a  quiet,  digni- 
fied way — no  easy  matter,  considering  the  extra- 
ordinary clothing  that  some  v\^ere  made  to  wear. 
One  had  a  sort  of  suspicion  that,  not  unlike  the 
armies  marching  on  the  stage,  one  recognised 
the  same  contingents  marching  past  several  times 
to  make  ud  for  numbers,  but  that  did  not  take 
away  from  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene,  in 
the  really  beautiful  garden,  with  lovely  fountains 
spouting  and  flowers  in  full  bloom. 

The  procession  with  banners  and  music  vv^ent 
on     for     a     very    long     time,    but    at    last    the 


XXI  THE  SHAH'S  DIAMONDS  223 

garden  was  cleared  of  all  people.      His  Majesty- 
wished  to  descend  for  a  little  walk. 

Absolutely  alone,  the  Shah  sauntered  about, 
apparently  quite  relieved  that  the  ordeal  was 
over.  The  Atabeg  Azam  was  signalled  to 
approach,  and  Prime  Minister  and  Sovereign 
had  a  friendly  conversation. 

Although  personally  not  fond  of  jewellery,  I 
must  confess  that  I  was  much  impressed  by  the 
resplendent  beauty  of  the  Shah's  diamonds  when 
a  ray  of  sun  shone  upon  them.  His  chest 
and  the  aigrette  on  the  cap  were  a  blaze  of 
dazzling  light,  with  a  myriad  of  most  beautiful 
flashing  colours. 

The  great  social  excitement  of  the  year  in 
Teheran  was  the  Prime  Minister's  evening 
party  on  the  Shah's  birthday,  when  all  the 
higher  Persian  officials  were  invited,  and  nearly 
all  the  Europeans  resident  in  Teheran,  regardless 
of  their  grade  or  social  position. 

This  evening  party  was  preceded  by  an  official 
dinner  to  the  members  of  the  Legations.  Elab- 
orate fireworks  were  let  off  in  the  beautiful 
gardens  and  reflected  in  the  ponds  in  front  of 
the  house,  and  the  gardens  were  tastefully 
illuminated  with  vari-coloured  lanterns  and 
decorated  with  flags. 

The  house  itself  was  full  of  interesting  objects  of 
art,  and  had  spacious  rooms  in  the  best  European 
style.  Persian  officials,  resplendent  in  gold- 
braided  uniforms,  their  chests  a  mass  of  decora- 
tions, were  politeness  itself  to  all  guests.  i^Jxcellent 
Persian  bands,  playing  European   airs,  enlivened 


224  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS        ch.  xxi 

the  evening,  and  it  was  quite  interesting  to  meet 
the  rank  and  file  and  beauty  of  Teheran  official 
and  commercial  life  all  here  assembled.  Persian 
ladies,  naturally,  did  not  appear,  but  a  few 
Armenian  ladies  of  the  better  classes  were  to  be 
observed. 

The  gentle  hint  given  to  the  guests  to  depart, 
when  the  Prime  Minister  got  tired  and  wanted 
to  retire,  was  quaintly  clever.  A  soft  music  was 
heard  to  come  from  his  bedroom.  It  was  the 
signal.  All  hastened  to  make  their  best  bows 
and  departed. 


The  Shah  in  his  Automobile. 


^PiB^P  0aKK^     ^HII^  -  -/ "  ^''^^^w     ,^^^1^  ■  ^^R^ 


'llIK    SaDKAZAM  S    (I'KIMK    MlMSIKKs)     K  KM  I  )K.N(i:,     1  KM  l-.K  AN. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

The  Shah's  Palace — The  finest  court — Alabaster  throne  hall — 
A  building  in  European  style — The  Museum — A  chair  of 
solid  gold  and  silver — The  Jtch — Paintings — The  banquet- 
ing room — The  audience  room — Beautiful  carpets — An 
elaborate  clock — Portraits  of  sovereigns  and  their  places — 
Pianos  and  good  music — The  Jew^elled-Globe  room — Oueen 
Victoria's  photograph — Moving  pictures — Conservatory — 
Roman  mosaics — Toys — Adam  and  Eve — Royal  and  im- 
perial oil  paintings — A  decided  slight — The  picture  gallery 
— Valuable  collection  of  arms — Strange  paintings — Coins — 
Pearls — Printing  press — Shah's  country  places. 

One  is  told  that  one  must  not  leave  Teheran 
without  carefully  inspecting  the  Shah's  Palace, 
its  treasures  and  its  museum.  A  special  permit 
must  be  obtained  for  this  through  the  Legation 
or  the  Foreign  Office. 

The  first  large  court  which  I  entered  on  this 
second  visit  has  pretty  tiled  buildings  at  the  sides, 
with  its  rectangular  reservoir  full  of  swans,  and 
bordered  by  trees,  is  probably  the  most  impres- 
sive part  of  the  Palace.  Fountains  play  in  the 
centre,  the  spouts  being  cast-iron  women's  heads 
of  the  cheapest  European  kind. 

The  lofty  throne  hall  stands  at  the  end,  its 
decorative  curtains  screening  its  otherwise  un- 
walled    frontage.      For    my    special    benefit    the 

VOL.    I  Q 


226  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

curtains  were  raised,  leaving  exposed  the  two 
high  spiral  stone  columns  that  support  the  roof 
in  front.  The  bases  of  these  columns  bore  con- 
ventionalized vases  with  sunflowers  and  leaf  orna- 
mentations, while  the  capitols  were  in  three 
superposed  fluted  tiers,  the  uppermost  being 
the  largest  in  diameter.  The  frieze  of  the  ceiling 
was  concave,  made  of  bits  of  looking-glass  and 
gold,  and  the  ceiling  itself  was  also  entirely  com- 
posed of  mirrors.  The  back  was  of  shiny  green 
and  blue,  with  eight  stars  and  two  large  looking- 
glasses,  while  at  the  sides  there  was  a  blue  frieze. 

Two  large  portraits  of  Nasr-ed-din  Shah,  two 
battle  scenes  and  two  portraits  of  Fath-Ali-Shah 
decorated  the  walls.  The  two  side  doors  of  the 
throne-hall  were  of  beautifully  inlaid  wood,  and 
the  two  doors  directly  behind  the  throne  were 
of  old  Shiraz  work  with  ivory  inscriptions  upon 
them  in  the  centre.  The  lower  part  of  the  wall 
was  of  coloured  alabaster,  with  flower  ornaments 
and  birds,  principally  hawks.  There  were  also 
other  less  important  pictures,  two  of  which  I  was 
told  represented  Nadir  and  Mahmud  Shah,  and 
two  unidentified. 

High  up  in  the  back  wall  were  five  windows, 
of  the  usual  Persian  pattern,  and  also  a  cheap 
gold  frame  enclosing  a  large  canvas  that  repre- 
sented a  half-naked  figure  of  a  woman  with  a 
number  of  fowls,  a  cat  and  a  dog.  Two  gold 
consoles  were  the  only  heavy  articles  of  movable 
furniture  to  be  seen. 

The  spacious  throne  of  well-marked  yellow 
alabaster  was  quite  gorgeous,  and  had  two  plat- 


XXII  THE  ALABASTER  THRONE  227 

forms,  the  first,  with  a  small  fountain,  being 
reached  by  three  steps,  the  second  a  step  higher. 
The  platform  was  supported  by  demons,  "  gue- 
bre  "  figures  all  round,  and  columns  resting  on 
the  backs  of  feline  animals.  On  the  upper  plat- 
form was  spread  an  ancient  carpet. 

On  leaving  this  hall  we  entered  a  second  court 
giving  entrance  to  a  building  in  the  European 
style,  with  a  wide  staircase  leading  to  several 
reception  rooms  on  the  first  floor.  One — the 
largest — had  a  billiard  table  in  the  centre,  expen- 
sive furniture  along  the  walls,  and  curtains  of 
glaring  yellow  and  red  plush,  the  chairs  being 
of  the  brightest  blue  velvet.  Taken  separately 
each  article  of  furniture  was  of  the  very  best 
kind,  but  it  seemed  evident  that  whoever  fur- 
nished that  room  did  his  utmost  to  select  colours 
that  would  not  match. 

There  were  two  Parisian  desks  and  a  fine  old 
oak  inlaid  desk,  a  capital  inlaid  bureau,  manu- 
factured by  a  Russian  in  Teheran,  and  some 
Sultanabad  carpets  not  more  than  fifty  years  old. 
On  the  shelves  and  wherever  else  a  place  could 
be  found  stood  glass  decorations  of  questionable 
artistic  taste,  and  many  a  vase  with  stiffs  bunches 
of  hideous  artificial  flowers. 

Let  us  enter  the  adjoining  Museum,  a  huge 
room  in  five  sections,  as  it  were,  each  section  hav- 
ing a  huge  chandelier  of  white  and  blue  Austrian 
glass,  suspended  from  the  ceiling.  There  are  glass 
cases  all  round  crammed  full  of  things  arranged 
with  no  regard  to  their  value,  merit,  shape,  size, 
colour  or  origin.    Beautiful  Chinese  and  Japanese 

Q   2 


228  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

cloisonne  stands  next  to  the  cheapest  Vienna  plas- 
ter statuette  representing  an  ugly  child  with  huge 
spectacles  on  his  nose,  and  the  most  exquisite 
Sevres  and  other  priceless  ceramic  ware  is  grouped 
with  empty  bottles  and  common  glass  restaurant 
decanters.  In  company  with  these  will  be  a 
toy — a  monkey  automatically  playing  a  fiddle. 

Costly  jade  and  cheap  prints  were  together  in 
another  case  ;  copies  of  old  paintings  of  saints  and 
the  Virgin,  coloured  photographs  of  theatrical 
and  music-hall  stars,  and  of  picturesque  scenery, 
a  painting  of  the  Shah  taken  in  his  apartments, 
jewels,  gold  ornaments  inlaid  with  precious 
stones,  a  beautiful  malachite  set  consisting  of 
clock,  inkstand,  vases,  and  a  pair  of  candlesticks  ; 
meteoric  stones  and  fossil  shells — all  were  dis- 
played in  the  utmost  confusion  along  the  shelves. 

At  the  further  end  of  the  Museum,  reached 
by  three  steps,  was  a  gaudy  throne  chair  of  solid 
gold  and  silver  enamelled.  The  throne  had 
amphoras  at  the  sides  and  a  sunflower  in  dia- 
monds behind  it.  The  seat  was  of  red  brocade, 
and  the  chair  had  very  small  arms.  It  rested  on 
a  six-legged  platform  with  two  supports  and  two 
ugly  candelabras. 

A  glance  at  the  remaining  glass  cases  of  the 
museum  reveals  the  same  confusion  ;  everything 
smothered  in  dust,  everything  uncared  for.  One's 
eye  detects  at  once  a  valuable  set  of  china,  and 
some  lovely  axes,  pistols  and  swords  inlaid  in 
gold,  ivory  and  silver.  Then  come  busts  of 
Bismarck  and  Moltke,  a  plaster  clown,  tawdry 
painted  fans  and  tortoiseshell  ones  ;  a  set  of  the 


XXII  DUBIOUS  ARTISTIC  TASTE  229 

most  common  blue  table-service,  and  two  high 
candelabras,  green  and  white  ;  a  leather  dressing- 
bag  with  silver  fittings  (unused),  automatic 
musical  figures,  shilling  candlesticks,  artificial 
coloured  fruit  in  marble,  and  a  really  splendid 
silver  dinner-service. 

From  the  Museum  we  passed  into  the  Atch^  a 
kind  of  store-room,  wherein  were  numberless 
cigar-boxes,  wicker-work  baskets,  and  badly- 
kept  tiger  skins.  Here  were  photographs  of 
some  of  the  Shah's  favourites,  a  great  assortment 
of  nut-crackers — the  Persians  love  walnuts — 
cheap  prints  in  profusion,  and  some  good 
antelope-skins. 

This  led  into  the  banqueting  room,  in  the 
European  style — and  quite  a  good,  sober  style 
this  time.  The  room  was  lighted  by  column 
candelabras,  and  there  was  a  collection  of  the 
Shah's  family  portraits  in  medallions  ;  also  a 
large-sized  phonograph,  which  is  said  to  afford 
much  amusement  to  His  Majesty  and  his 
guests. 

The  paintings  on  the  walls  ran  very  much  to 
the  nude,  and  none  were  very  remarkable,  if  one 
excepts  a  life-size  nude  figure  of  a  woman  sitting 
and  in  the  act  of  caressing  a  dove.  It  is  a  very 
clever  copy  of  a  painting  by  Foragne  in  the 
Shah's  picture  gallery,  and  has  been  done  by  a 
Persian  artist  named  Kamaol-el-Mulk,  who,  I 
was  told,  had  studied  in  Paris. 

Most  interesting  of  all  in  the  room,  however, 
was  the  exquisite  old  carpet  with  a  delight- 
ful   design     of   roses.      It    was    the    carpet    that 


230  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Nasr-ed-din  Shah  brought  to  Europe  with  him 
to  spread  under  his  chair. 

The  dining-room  bore  evident  signs  of  His 
Majesty's  hasty  departure  for  the  country.  On 
the  tables  were  piled  up  anyhow  mountains  of 
dishes,  plates,  wine-glasses,  and  accessories,  the 
table  service  made  in  Europe  being  in  most 
excellent  taste,  white  and  gold  with  a  small  circle 
in  which  the  Persian  "  Lion  and  Sun  "  were 
surmounted  by  the  regal  crown. 

We  go  next  into  the  Shah's  favourite  apart- 
ments, where  he  spends  most  of  his  time  when 
in  Teheran,  We  are  now  in  the  small  room  in 
which  I  had  already  been  received  in  audience 
by  his  Majesty  on  his  birthday,  a  room  made 
entirely  of  mirrors.  There  was  a  low  and 
luxurious  red  couch  on  the  floor,  and  we  trod  on 
magnificent  soft  silk  carpets  of  lovely  designs. 
One  could  not  resist  feeling  with  one's  fingers  the 
deliciously  soft  Kerman  rug  of  a  fascinating 
artistic  green,  and  a  charming  red  carpet  from 
Sultanabad.  The  others  came  from  Isfahan  and 
Kashan.  The  most  valuable  and  beautiful  of  all, 
however,  was  the  white  rug,  made  in  Sultanabad, 
on  which  the  Shah  stands  when  receiving  in 
audience. 

Next  after  the  carpets,  a  large  clock  by 
Benson  with  no  less  than  thirteen  different  dials, 
which  told  one  at  a  glance  the  year,  the  month, 
the  week,  the  day,  the  moon,  the  hour,  minutes, 
seconds,  and  anything  else  one  might  wish  to 
know,  was  perhaps  the  most  noticeable  item  in 
the  Shah's  room. 


XXII  A  ROOM   OF   MIRRORS  231 

There  was  nothing  in  the  furniture  to  appeal  to 
one,  the  chairs  and  tables  being  of  cheap  bamboo 
of  the  familiar  folding  pattern  such  as  are 
commonly  characteristic  of  superior  boarding- 
houses.  In  the  way  of  art  there  was  a  large 
figure  of  a  woman  resting  under  a  palm  tree,  a 
photographic  enlargement  of  the  Shah's  portrait, 
and  on  the  Shah's  writing-desk  two  handsome 
portraits  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress  of  Russia, 
the  Emperor  occupying  the  highest  place  or 
honour.  Two  smaller  photographs  of  the  Czar  jm- 
and  Czarina  were  to  be  seen  also  in  shilling 
plush  frames  on  another  writing-desk,  by  the 
side  of  an  electric  clock  and  night-light. 

The  eye  was  attracted  by  three  terrestrial 
globes  and  an  astronomical  one  with  constel- 
lations standing  on  a  table.  A  number  of  very 
tawdry  articles  were  lying  about  on  the  other 
pieces  of  furniture  ;  such  were  a  metal  dog 
holding  a  ten-shilling  watch,  paper  frames,  cheap 
imitation  leather  articles,  numerous  photographs 
of  the  Shah,  a  copy  of  the  Petit  Journal 
framed,  and  containing  a  representation  of  the 
attempt  on  the  Shah's  life,  an  amber  service,  and 
last,  but  not  least,  the  nut-cracker  and  the 
empty  nutshells,  the  contents  of  which  the  Shah 
was  in  process  of  eating  when  I  had  an  audience 
of  him  some  days  before,  still  lying  undisturbed 
upon  a  small  desk.  The  Shah's  special  chair  was 
embroidered  in  red  and  blue. 

All  this  was  reflected  myriads  of  times  in  the 
diamond-shaped  mirror  ceiling  and  walls,  and 
the   effect   was  somewhat   dazzlincf.      The   room 


232  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

had  a  partition,  and  on  the  other  side  was  an 
ample  couch  for  his  Majesty  to  rest  upon.  In 
each  reception  room  is  to  be  seen  a  splendid 
grand  piano,  the  music  of  which,  when  good, 
the  Shah  is  said  passionately  to  enjoy.  One  of 
his  aides  de  camp — a  European — is  an  excellent 
pianist  and  composer. 

We  now  come  to  the  world-renowned  "  Jewel- 
led-Globe "  room,  and  of  course  one  makes  at 
once  for  the  priceless  globe  enclosed  in  a  glass 
case  in  the  centre  of  the  room.  The  frame  of 
the  large  globe  is  said  to  be  of  solid  gold  and  so 
is  the  tripod  stand,  set  in  rubies  and  diamonds. 
The  Globe,  to  do  justice  to  its  name,  is  covered 
all  over  with  precious  stones,  the  sea  being 
represented  by  green  emeralds,  and  the  conti- 
nents by  rubies.  The  Equator  line  is  set  in 
diamonds  and  also  the  whole  area  of  Persian 
territory. 

There  is  nothing  else  of  great  artistic  interest 
here,  and  it  depressed  one  to  find  that,  although  the 
portraits  in  oil  and  photographs  of  the  Emperors 
of  Russia  and  Austria  occupied  prominent  places 
of  honour  in  the  Shah's  apartments,  the  only 
image  of  our  Queen  Victoria  was  a  wretched 
faded  cabinet  photograph  in  a  twopenny  paper 
frame,  thrown  carelessly  among  empty  envelopes 
and  writing  paper  in  a  corner  of  his  Majesty's 
writing  desk.  Princess  Beatrice's  photograph 
was  near  it,  and  towering  above  them  in  the 
most  prominent  place  was  another  picture  of 
the  Emperor  of  Russia.  We,  ourselves,  may 
attach    little    meaning   to    these    trifling    details. 


XXII  LATEST  APPLIANCES  233 

but   significant   are  the  inferences  drawn  by  the 
natives  themselves. 

In  this  room,  as  in  most  of  the  others,  there  is 
Bohemian  glass  in  great  profusion,  and  a  "  one 
year  chronometer  "  of  great  precision.  A  really 
beautiful  inlaid  ivory  table  is  disfigured  by  a 
menagerie  of  coloured  miniature  leaden  cats, 
lions,  lizards,  dogs,  a  children's  kaleidoscope,  and 
some  badly-stufred  birds,  singing  automatically. 
On  another  table  were  more  glass  vases  and  a 
variety  of  articles  made  of  cockle  shells  on 
pasteboard,  cycle  watches,  and  brass  rings  with 
imitation  stones. 

Adjoining  this  room  is  a  small  boudoir, 
possessing  the  latest  appliances  of  civilisation. 
It  contains  another  grand  piano,  a  large  apparatus 
for  projecting  moving  pictures  on  a  screen,  and 
an  ice-cream  soda  fountain  with  four  taps,  of 
the  type  one  admires — but  does  not  wish  to 
possess — in  the  New  York  chemists'  shops  !  ! 
The  Shah's,  however,  lacks  three  things, — the 
soda,  the  ice,  and  the  syrups  ! 

Less  modern  but  more  reposeful  is  the  next  ante- 
room with  white  walls  and  pretty  wood  ceiling. 
It  has  some  military  pictures  of  no  great  value. 

On  going  down  ten  steps  we  find  ourselves  in 
a  long  conservatory  with  blue  and  yellow  tiles 
and  a  semi-open  roof.  A  channel  of  water  runs 
in  the  centre  of  the  floor,  and  is  the  outlet  of  three 
octagonal  basins  and  of  spouts  at  intervals  of  ten 
feet.  There  is  a  profusion  of  lemon  and  orange 
trees  at  the  sides  of  the  water,  and  the  place  is 
kept  deliciously  cool. 


234  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Here  we  emerge  again  into  the  gardens,  which 
are  really  beautiful  although  rather  overcrowded, 
but  which  have  plenty  of  fountains  and  huge 
tanks,  with  handsome  buildings  reflected  into 
the  v^ater. 

The  high  tiled  square  towers,  one  of  the 
landmarks  of  Teheran,  are  quite  picturesque, 
but  some  of  the  pleasure  of  looking  at  the 
really  fine  view  is  destroyed  by  numerous  ugly 
cast-iron  coloured  figures  imported  from  Austria 
which  disfigure  the  sides  of  all  the  reservoirs, 
and  are  quite  out  of  keeping  with  the  character 
of  everything  round  them. 

We  are  now  conducted  into  another  building, 
where  Roman  mosaics  occupy  a  leading  position, 
a  large  one  of  the  Coliseum  being  quite  a  valu- 
able work  of  art ;  but  on  entering  the  second 
room  we  are  suddenly  confronted  by  a  collection  or 
hideous  tin  ware  and  a  specimen  case  of  ordinary 
fish  hooks,  manufactured  by  Messrs.  W.  Bartlett 
and  Sons.  Next  to  this  is  a  framed  autograph 
of "  Nina  de  Muller  of  St.  Petersburg,"  and  a 
photographic  gathering  of  gay  young  ladies  with 
suitable  inscriptions — apparently  some  of  the  late 
Shah's  acquaintances  during  his  European  tours. 
Here  are  also  stuffed  owls,  an  automatic  juggler, 
an  imitation  snake,  Japanese  screens,  and  an 
amusing  painting  by  a  Persian  artist  of  Adam 
and  Eve  in  the  Garden  of  Eden — the  forbidden 
fruit  already  missing. 

Previous  to  entering  the  largest  room  we  come 
to  an  ante-room  with  photographs  of  scenery  and 
events  belonging  to  the  Shah's  tour  to  Europe. 


XXII  AN  EVIDENT  SLIGHT  235 

In  the  large  gold  room  the  whole  set  of  furni- 
ture, I  am  told,  was  presented  to  Nasr-ed-din 
Shah  by  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  and  there  are, 
besides,  six  large  oil-paintings  hanging  upon  the 
walls  in  gorgeous  gold  frames.  They  represent 
the  last  two  Shahs,  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
of  Russia,  the  Crown  Prince  at  the  time  of  the 
presentation,  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria.  A 
smaller  picture  of  Victor  Emmanuel  also  occupies 
a  prominent  place,  but  here  again  we  have  another 
instance  of  the  little  reverence  in  which  our 
beloved  Queen  Victoria  was  held  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Persian  Court.  Among  the  various  honoured 
foreign  Emperors  and  Kings,  to  whom  this  room 
is  dedicated.  Queen  Victoria's  only  representation 
is  a  small,  bad  photograph,  skied  in  the  least 
attractive  part  of  the  room — a  most  evident 
slight,  when  we  find  such  photographs  as  that  ot 
the  Emperor  William  occupying  a  front  and 
honoured  place,  as  does  also  the  photograph  of 
Queen  Wilhelmina  of  Holland  with  her  mother. 
Yet  another  palpable  instance  of  this  disregard 
for  the  reigning  head  of  England  appears  in  a 
series  of  painted  heads  of  Sovereigns.  The  Shah, 
of  course,  is  represented  the  biggest  of  the  lot, 
and  King  Humbert,  Emperor  William,  the  Sultan 
of  Turkey  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  of  about 
equal  sizes  ;  whereas  the  Queen  of  England  is 
quite  small  and  insignificant. 

The  furniture  in  this  room  is  covered  with 
the  richest  plush. 

We  now  come  upon  the  royal  picture  gallery 
(or,  rather,  gallery  of  painted   canvases),  a  long, 


236  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

long  room,  where  a  most  interesting  display  of 
Persian,  Afghan,  Beluch  and  Turkish  arms  of  all 
kinds,  ancient  and  modern,  gold  bows  and  arrows, 
jewelled  daggers,  Damascus  swords,  are  much 
more  attractive  than  the  yards  of  portraits  of 
ladies  who  have  dispensed  altogether  with 
dressmakers'  bills,  and  the  gorgeously  framed 
advertisements  of  Brooks'  Machine  Cottons,  and 
other  products,  which  are  hung  on  the  line  in 
the  picture  gallery  !  The  pictures  by  Persian 
art  students — who  paint  in  European  style — are 
rather  quaint  on  account  of  the  subjects  chosen 
when  they  attempt  to  be  ideal.  They  run  a 
good  deal  to  the  fantastic,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
several  square  yards  of  canvas  entitled  the  "  Re- 
sult of  a  dream."  It  contains  quite  a  menagerie 
of  most  suggestive  wild  animals,  and  dozens  of 
angels  and  demons  in  friendly  intercourse  playing 
upon  the  surface  of  a  lake  and  among  the  en- 
tangled branches  of  trees.  In  the  background 
a  pyrotechnic  display  of  great  magnitude  is  de- 
picted, with  rockets  shooting  up  in  all  directions, 
while  ethereal,  large,  black-eyed  women  lie  grace- 
fully reclining  and  unconcerned,  upon  most  unsafe 
clouds.  The  result  on  the  spectator  of  looking 
at  the  "  Result  of  a  dream,"  and  other  similar 
canvases  by  the  same  artist,  is  generally,  I  should 
think,  a  nightmare. 

There  are  some  good  paintings  by  foreign 
artists,  such  as  the  life-size  nude  with  a  dove  by 
Folagne,  which  we  have  already  seen,  most 
faithfully  and  cleverly  copied  by  a  Persian  artist, 
in  the  Shah's  dining-room.    Then  there  are  some 


xxii  INTERESTING  WEAPONS  237 

pretty  Dutch  and  Italian  pictures,  but  nothing 
really  first-rate  in  a  purely  artistic  sense. 

The  cases  of  ancient  and  rare  gold  and  silver 
coins  are,  however,  indeed  v^^orthy  of  remark, 
and  so  are  the  really  beautiful  Persian,  Afghan 
and  Turkish  gold  and  silver  inlaid  shields,  and 
the  intensely  picturesque  and  finely  ornamented 
matchlocks  and  flintlocks.  Here,  too,  as  in 
China,  we  find  an  abnormally  large  rifle — some- 
thing like  the  gingal  of  the  Celestials.  These 
long  clumsy  rifles  possess  an  ingenious  back  sight, 
v^ith  tiny  perforations  at  difl'erent  heights  of  the 
sight  for  the  various  distances  on  exactly  the 
principle  of  a  Lyman  back  sight. 

The  Persians  who  accompanied  me  through 
the  Palace  seemed  very  much  astonished — almost 
concerned^at  my  taking  so  much  interest  in 
these  weapons — which  they  said  were  only  very 
old  and  obsolete — and  so  little  in  the  hideous 
things  which  they  valued  and  wanted  me  to 
admire.  They  were  most  anxious  that  I  should 
stop  before  a  box  of  pearls,  a  lot  of  them,  all  of 
good  size  but  not  very  regular  in  shape.  Any- 
thing worth  big  sums  of  money  is  ever  much 
more  attractive  to  Persians  (also,  one  might  add, 
to  most  Europeans)  than  are  objects  really  artistic 
or  even  pleasing  to  the  eye. 

Next  to  the  pearls,  came  dilapidated  butterflies 
and  shells  and  fossils  and  stuffed  lizards  and 
crocodiles  and  elephants'  tusks,  and  I  do  not 
know  what  else,  so  that  by  the  time  one  came 
out,  after  passing  through  the  confusion  that 
reigned  everywhere,  one's  brain  was  so  worn  and 


238  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

jumpy  that  one  was  glad  to  sit  and  rest  in  the 
lovely  garden  and  sip  cup  after  cup  of  tea, 
which  the  Palace  servants  had  been  good  enough 
to  prepare. 

But  there  was  one  more  thing  that  I  was 
dragged  to  see  before  departing — a  modern 
printing-press  complete.  His  Majesty,  when 
the  fancy  takes  him,  has  books  translated  and 
specially  printed  for  his  own  use.  With  a  sigh 
of  relief  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  I  had  now 
seen  everything,  quite  everything,  in  the  Shah's 
Palace ! 

The  Shah  has  several  country  seats  with 
beautiful  gardens  on  the  hills  to  the  north  of 
Teheran,  where  he  spends  most  of  the  summer 
months,  and  in  these  residences,  too,  we  find  the 
rooms  mostly  decorated  with  mirrors,  and  differ- 
ing very  little  in  character  from  those  in  the 
Teheran  Palace,  only  not  quite  so  elaborate. 
European  influence  has  frequently  crept  in  in 
architectural  details  and  interior  decorations,  but 
not  alv/ays  advantageously. 

The  Andarun  or  harem,  the  women's  quarter, 
is  generally  less  gaudy  than  the  other  buildings, 
the  separate  little  apartments  belonging  to  each 
lady  being,  in  fact,  quite  modest  and  not  always 
particularly  clean.  There  is  very  little  furniture 
in  the  bedrooms,  Persian  women  having  com- 
paratively few  requirements.  There  is  in  addi- 
tion a  large  reception  room,  furnished  in  Euro- 
pean style,  with  elaborate  coloured  glass  windows. 
This  room  is  used  when  the  Shah  visits  the 
ladies,  or  when  they  entertain  friends,  but  there 


XXII  THE   MOTOR  CAR   MANIA  239 

is  nothing,  it  may  be  noted,  to  impress  one  with 
the  idea  that  these  are  regal  residences  or  with 
that  truly  oriental,  gorgeous  pomp,  popularly  as- 
sociated in  Europe  with  the  Shah's  court.  There 
is  probably  no  court  of  any  importance  where  the 
style  of  life  is  simpler  and  more  modest  than  at 
the  Shah's.  All  the  houses  are,  nevertheless, 
most  comfortable,  and  the  gardens — the  principal 
feature  of  all  these  country  places — extremely 
handsome,  with  many  fountains,  tanks,  and  water 
channels  intersecting  them  in  every  direction 
for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  the  artificially 
reared  vegetation,  and  also  of  rendering  the 
places  cooler  in  summer. 

Unlike  most  natives  of  the  Asiatic  continent, 
the  Persian  shows  no  reluctance  in  accepting 
foreign  ways  and  inventions.  He  may  lack  the 
means  to  indulge  in  foreign  luxuries,  but  that  is 
a  different  matter  altogether  ;  the  inclination  to 
reform  and  adopt  European  ways  is  there  all  the 
same. 

More  forward  in  this  line  than  most  other 
Persians  is  the  Shah's  son,  a  very  intelligent, 
bright  young  fellow,  extremely  plucky  and 
charmingly  simple-minded.  He  takes  the 
keenest  interest  in  the  latest  inventions  and  fads, 
and,  like  his  father  the  Shah,  fell  a  victim  to  the 
motor  car  mania.  Only,  the  Shah  entrusts  his 
life  to  the  hands  of  an  expert  French  driver, 
whereas  the  young  Prince  finds  it  more  amusing 
to  drive  the  machine  himself.  This,  of  course, 
he  can  only  do  within  the  Palace  grounds,  since 
to  do  so   in    the    streets   of  the  town    would   be 


240  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS        ch.  xxii 

considered  below  his  dignity  and  would  shock 
the  people. 

At  the  country  residences  he  is  said  to  have  a 
good  deal  of  amusement  out  of  his  motor,  but 
not  so  the  Shah's  Ministers  and  friends  who  are 
now  terrified  at  the  name  "  motor."  The 
young  Prince,  it  appears,  on  the  machine  being 
delivered  from  Europe  insisted — without  previous 
knowledge  of  how  to  steer  it — on  driving  it 
round  a  large  water  tank.  He  invited  several 
stout  Ministers  in  all  their  finery  to  accompany 
him,  vv^hich  they  did  with  beaming  faces,  over- 
come by  the  honour.  The  machine  started  full 
speed  ahead  in  a  somewhat  snake-like  fashion, 
and  with  great  destruction  of  the  minor  plants  on 
the  way ;  then  came  a  moment  of  fearful  appre- 
hension on  the  part  of  spectators  and  performers 
alike.  The  car  collided  violently  with  an  old 
tree  ;  some  of  the  high  dignitaries  were  flung 
into  the  water,  others  though  still  on  dry  land 
lay  flat  on  their  backs. 

It  speaks  volumes  for  the  young  Prince's 
pluck  that,  when  the  car  was  patched  up,  he 
insisted  on  driving  it  again  ;  but  the  number  of 
excuses  and  sudden  complaints  that  have  since 
prevailed  among  his  father's  friends  when  asked 
to  go  for  a  drive  with  the  Prince  are  said  to 
be  quite  unprecedented. 

The  Prince  is  a  great  sportsman  and  much 
beloved  by  all  for  his  frankness  and  geniality. 


.*      .-  .2 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

The  selection  of  a  servant — A  Persian  diligence — Shah-Abdul- 
Azim  mosque — Rock  carving — The  round  tower — Beggars 
— The  Kerjawa  —  Hasanabad — Run-away  horses — Mis- 
placed affection — Characteristics  of  the  country — Aziza- 
wad — Salt  lake  of  Daria-i-Nimak — Aliabad — Sunsets. 

I  HAD  much  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  really- 
first-class  servant,  although  many  applied  with 
glowing  certificates.  It  has  always  been  my 
experience  that  the  more  glowing  the  certificates 
the  worse  the  servant.  For  my  particular  kind 
of  travelHng,  too,  a  special  type  of  servant 
has  to  be  got,  with  a  constitution  somewhat 
above  the  average.  I  generally  cover  very  great 
distances  at  a  high  speed  without  the  least 
inconvenience  to  myself,  but  I  find  that  those 
who  accompany  me  nearly  always  break  down. 

After  inspecting  a  number  of  applicants  I 
fixed  upon  one  man  whose  features  showed 
firmness  of  character  and  unusual  determination. 
He  was  a  man  of  few  words — one  of  the  rarest 
and  best  qualities  in  a  travelling  servant,  and — 
he  had  no  relations  dependent  upon  him — the 
next  best  quality.  He  could  shoot  straight,  he 
could    stick   on    a    saddle,  he    could    walk.      He 

VOL.    I  R 


242  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

required  little  sleep.  He  was  willing  to  go  to 
any  country  where  I  chose  to  take  him.  He 
required  a  high  salary,  but  promised  by  all  he 
held  most  sacred  that  he  would  die  before  he 
would  give  me  the  slightest  trouble.  This 
seemed  all  fair,  and  I  employed  him. 

Only  one  drawback  did  this  man  have — he 
was  an  excellent  European  cook.  1  had  to 
modify  him  into  a  good  plain  cook,  and  then  he 
became  perfection  itself.      His  name  was  Sadek. 

On  October  2nd  I  was  ready  to  start  south. 
My  foot  was  still  in  a  bad  condition,  but  I 
thought  that  the  open  air  cure  would  be  the 
best  instead  of  lying  in  stuffy  rooms.  Riding 
is  my  favourite  way  of  progression,  but  again  it 
was  necessary  to  submit  to  another  extortion 
and  travel  by  carriage  as  far  as  Kum  on  a  road 
made  by  the  Bank  of  Persia  some  few  years  ago. 
The  speculation  was  not  carried  on  sufficiently 
long  to  become  a  success,  and  the  road  v/as 
eventually  sold  to  a  Persian  concern.  The  same 
company  runs  a  service  of  carriages  with  relays 
of  horses  between  the  two  places,  and  if  one 
wishes  to  travel  fast  one  is  compelled  to  hire  a 
carriage,  the  horses  not  being  let  out  on  hire  for 
riding  purposes  at  any  of  the  stations. 

This  time  I  hired  a  large  diligence — the  only 
vehicle  in  the  stables  that  seemed  strong  enough 
to  stand  the  journey.  It  was  painted  bright 
yellow  outside,  had  no  windows,  and  was  very 
properly  divided  into  two  compartments,  one 
for  men  and  one  for  women.  The  money  for 
the  journey  had  to  be   paid  in   advance,  and  the 


xxiii  POOR  TREES  !  243 

vehicle  was  ordered    to  be   at    the   door  of  the 
hotel  on  Friday,  October  4th,  at  5.30  a.m. 

It  arrived  on  Sunday  evening,  October  6th, 
at  6.30  o'clock.  So  much  for  Persian  punctu- 
ality. Sadek  said  I  was  lucky  that  it  did  come 
so  soon  ;  sometimes  the  carriages  ordered  come 
a  week  later  than  the  appointed  time  ;  occasion- 
ally they  do  not  come  at  all ! 

Sadek,  much  to  his  disgust,  was  made  to 
occupy  the  ladies'  compartment  with  all  the 
luggage,  and  I  had  the  men's.  We  were  off, 
and  left  the  city  just  in  time  before  the  South 
Gate  was  closed.  There  were  high  hills  to  the 
south-east,  much  broken  and  rugged,  and  to  the 
north  beyond  the  town  the  higher  ones  above 
Golahek,  on  which  snow  caps  could  be  perceived. 
Damovend  (18,600  ft.),  the  highest  and  most 
graceful  mountain  in  Persia,  stood  v/ith  its  white 
summit  against  the  sky  to  the  north-east. 

Even  two  hundred  yards  away  from  the  -city 
gate  there  v/as  nothing  to  tell  us  that  we  had 
come  out  of  the  capital  of  Persia — the  place 
looks  so  insignificant  from  every  side.  A  green- 
tiled  dome  of  no  impressive  proportions,  a 
minaret  or  two,  and  a  few  mud  walls — that  is 
all  one  sees  of  the  mass  of  houses  one  leaves 
behind. 

Barren  country  and  dusty  road,  a  graveyard 
with  its  prism-shaped  graves  half-buried  in  sand, 
are  the  attractions  of  the  road.  One  comes  to 
an  avenue  of  trees.  Poor  trees  !  How  baked 
and  dried  and  smothered  in  dust  !  A  couple  of 
miles  off,  we    reached    a    patch    of  verdure  and 

R   2 


244  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

some  really  green  trees  and  even  signs  of 
agriculture.  To  our  left  (east)  lay  the  narrow- 
gauge  railway  line — the  only  one  in  Persia — 
leading  to  the  Shah-Abdul  Azim  mosque.  The 
whole  length  of  the  railway  is  not  more  than  six 
miles. 

To  the  right  of  the  road,  some  little  distance 
before  reaching  the  mosque,  a  very  quaint,  large 
high-relief  has  been  sculptured  on  the  face  oi 
a  huge  rock  and  is  reflected  upside  down  in  a 
pond  of  water  at  its  foot.  Men  were  bathing  here 
in  long  red  or  blue  drawers,  and  hundreds  of 
donkeys  were  conveying  veiled  women  to  this 
spot.  An  enormous  tree  casts  its  shadow  over 
the  pool  of  water  in  the  forenoon. 

It  is  interesting  to  climb  up  to  the  high-relief 
to  examine  the  figures  more  closely.  The  whole 
sculpture  is  divided  into  three  sections  separated 
by  columns,  the  central  section  being  as  large  as 
the  two  side  ones  taken  together.  In  the  centre 
is  Fath-ali-shah — legless  apparently — but  sup- 
posed to  be  seated  on  a  throne.  He  wears  a 
high  cap  with  three  aigrettes,  and  his  moustache 
and  beard  are  of  abnormal  length.  In  his  belt  at 
the  pinched  waist  he  disports  a  sword  and  dagger, 
while  he  holds  a  baton  in  his  hand.  There  are 
nine  figures  to  his  right  in  two  rows  :  the  Naib 
Sultaneh,  Hussein  Ali,  Taghi  Mirza,  above  ; 
below,  Mahommed,  Ali  Mirza,  Fatah  Mirza, 
Abdullah  Mirza,  Bachme  Mirza,  one  figure 
unidentified.  To  the  Shah's  left  the  figures  of 
Ali-naghi  Mirza  and  Veri  Mirza  are  in  the 
lower  row  ;   Malek  Mirza,  the  last  figure  to  the 


Rock  Sculpture  near  Siiah-Akdul-Azim. 


I,  .  1  J. .....I.  .   I.  1 1.1,  ■    I  I. 111. 1. 


XXIII       A  PURPOSELESS  STRUCTURE         245 

left,  Hedar  Mirza  and  Moh-Allah-Mirza  next 
to  Fath-Ali-Shah.  All  the  figures  are  long- 
bearded  and  garbed  in  long  gowns,  with  swords 
and  daggers.  On  Fath-Ali-Shah's  right  hand  is 
perched  a  hawk,  and  behind  his  throne  stands  an 
attendant  with  a  sunshade,  while  under  the  seat 
are  little  figures  of  Muchul  Mirza  and  Kameran 
Mirza.  There  are  inscriptions  on  the  three 
sides  of  the  frame,  but  not  on  the  base.  A  seat 
is  carved  in  the  rock  by  the  side  of  the  sculpture. 
A  few  hundred  yards  from  this  well-preserved 
rock  carving,  a  round  tower  90  or  100  feet  in 
heio-ht  has  been  erected.     Its  diameter  inside  is 

o 

about  40  feet  and  the  thickness  of  the  wall  about 
20  feet.  It  has  two  large  yellow  doors.  Why 
this  purposeless  structure  was  put  up,  nobody 
seems  to  know  for  certain.  One  gets  a  beautiful 
view  from  the  top  of  the  wall — Teheran  in  the 
distance  on  one  side  ;  the  Shah-Abdul-Azim 
mosque  on  the  other.  Mountains  are  close  by 
to  the  east,  and  a  patch  of  cultivation  and  a 
garden  all  round  down  below.  Near  the 
mosque — as  is  the  case  with  all  pilgrimage 
places  in  Persia — we  find  a  bazaar  crammed 
with  beggars,  black  bag-like  women  riding 
astride  on  donkeys  or  mules,  depraved-looking 
men,  and  stolid-looking  Mullahs.  There  were 
old  men,  blind  men,  lame  men,  deaf  men, 
armless  men,  men  with  enormous  tumours,  others 
minus  the  nose  or  lower  jaw — the  result  of 
cancer.     Millions  of  flies  were  buzzing  about. 

One   of  the   most  ghastly  deformities  I  have 
ever  seen   was  a  tumour  under  a    Mullah's  foot. 


246  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

It  was  an  almost  spherical  tumour,  some  three 
inches  in  diameter,  with  skin  drawn  tight  and 
shining  over  its  surface.  It  had  patches  of  red 
on  the  otherwise  whitish-yellow  skin,  and  gave 
the  impression  of  the  man  resting  his  foot  on  an 
unripe  water-melon  with  the  toes  half  dug  into 
the  tumour. 

Non-Mussulmans  are,  of  course,  forbidden  to 
enter  the  mosque,  so  I  had  to  be  content  with 
the  outside  view  of  it — nothing  very  grand — 
and  must  take  my  reader  again  along  the  flat, 
uninteresting  country  towards  Kum. 

The  usual  troubles  of  semi-civilised  Persia  are 
not  lacking  even  at  the  very  first  stage.  There 
are  no  relays  of  horses,  and  those  just  un- 
harnessed are  too  tired  to  proceed.  They  are 
very  hungry,  too,  and  there  is  nothing  for  them 
to  eat.  Several  hours  are  wasted,  and  Sadek 
employs  them  in  cooking  my  dinner  and  also  in 
giving  exhibitions  of  his  temper  to  the  stable 
people.  Then  follow  endless  discussions  at  the 
top  of  their  voices,  in  which  I  do  not  take  part, 
for  I  am  old  and  wise  enough  not  to  discuss 
anything  with  anybody. 

The  prospects  of  a  backshish,  the  entreaties 
and  prayers  being  of  no  avail,  Sadek  flies  into  a 
fury,  rushes  to  the  yard,  seizes  the  horses  and 
harness,  gives  the  coachman  a  hammering  (and 
the  post  master  very  nearly  another),  and  so  we 
are  able  to  start  peacefully  again  at  three  a.m., 
and  leave  Chah-herizek  behind. 

But  the  horses  are  tired  and  hungry.  They 
drag    and    stumble    along    in    a    most     tiresome 


XXIII  DOUBLE  LITTERS  247 

manner.  There  is  moonlight,  that  ought  to  add 
poetry  to  the  scenery — but  in  Persia  there  is  no 
poetry  about  anything.  There  are  a  great  many 
caravans  on  the  road — they  all  travel  at  night  to 
save  the  animals  from  the  great  heat  of  the  day 
— long  strings  of  camels  with  their  monotonous 
bells,  and  dozens  of  donkeys  or  mules,  some  with 
the  covered  double  litters — the  kerjawa.  These 
kerjawas  are  comfortable  enough  for  people  not 
accustomed  to  ride,  or  for  women  who  can  sleep 
comfortably  while  in  motion  inside  the  small 
panier.  The  kerjawa  is  slung  over  the  saddle 
like  two  large  hampers  with  a  roof  of  bent  bands 
of  wood.  A  cloth  covering  is  made  to  turn 
the  kerjawa  into  a  small  private  room,  an  exact 
duplicate  of  which  is  slung  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  saddle.  Two  persons  balancing  each  other 
are  required  by  this  double  arrangement,  or  one 
person  on  one  side  and  an  equivalent  quantity  of 
luggage  on  the  other  so  as  to  establish  a 
complete  balance — a  most  important  point  to 
consider  if  serious  accidents  are  to  be  avoided. 

Every  now  and  then  the  sleepy  voice  of  a 
caravan  man  calls  out  "  Salameleko  "  to  my 
coachman,  and  "  Salameleko  "  is  duly  answered 
back  ;  otherwise  we  rattle  along  at  the  speed  ot 
about  four  miles  an  hour,  bumping  terribly  on 
the  uneven  road,  and  the  dihgence  creaking  in  a 
most  perplexing  manner. 

At  Hasanabad,  the  second  stage,  I  was  more 
fortunate  and  got  four  good  horses  in  exchange 
for  the  tired  ones.  One  of  them  was  very  fresh 
and   positively   refused   to  go    with    the    others. 


248  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  driver,  who  was  brutal,  used  his  stock-whip 
very  freely,  with  the  result  that  the  horse 
smashed  part  of  the  harness  and  bolted.  The 
other  three,  of  course,  did  the  same,  and  the 
coachman  was  not  able  to  hold  them.  We 
travelled  some  few  hundred  yards  off  the  road  at 
a  considerable  speed  and  with  terrible  bumping, 
the  shaky,  patched-up  carriage  gradually  begin- 
ning to  crumble  to  pieces.  The  boards  of  the 
front  part  fell  apart,  owing  to  the  violent 
oscillations  of  the  roof,  and  the  roof  itself 
showed  evident  signs  of  an  approaching  collapse. 
We  were  going  down  a  steep  incline,  and  I 
cannot  say  that  I  felt  particularly  happy  until 
the  horses  were  got  under  control  again.  I 
feared  that  all  my  photographic  plates  and 
cameras  might  get  damaged  if  the  diligence 
turned  over. 

While  the  men  mended  the  harness  I  had  a 
look  at  the  scenery.  The  formation  of  the 
country  was  curious.  There  were  what  at  first 
appeared  to  be  hundreds  ot  small  mounds  like 
ant-hills — round  topped  and  greyish,  or  in 
patches  of  light  brown,  with  yellow  sand 
deposits  exposed  to  the  air  on  the  surface.  On 
getting  nearer  they  appeared  to  be  long  flat- 
topped  ridges  evidently  formed  by  water-borne 
matter — probably  at  the  epoch  when  this  was 
the  sea  or  lake  bottom. 

^'Khup  es  / ''  (It  is  all  right  !)  said  the  coach- 
man, inviting  me  to  mount  again — and  in  a 
sudden  outburst  of  exuberant  affection  he 
embraced    the   naughty    horse    and    kissed    him 


XXIII  RECIPROCATING  A  COMPLIMENT    249 

fondly  on  the  nose.  The  animal  reciprocated 
the  coachman's  compliment  by  promptly  kick- 
ing the  front  splashboard  of  the  carriage  to 
smithereens. 

We  crossed  a  bridge.  To  the  east  the  water- 
level  mark,  made  when  this  valley  was  under 
water,  is  plainly  visible  on  the  strata  of  gravel 
with  reddish  mud  above,  of  which  the  hills  are 
formed. 

Then,  rising  gradually,  the  diligence  goes 
over  a  low  pass  and  along  a  flat  plateau  separat- 
ing the  first  basin  we  have  left  behind  from  a 
second,  more  extensive,  of  similar  formation. 
The  hills  in  this  second  basin  appear  lower. 
To  the  S.S.E.  is  a  horseshoe-shaped  sand  dune, 
much  higher  than  anything  we  had  so  far 
encountered,  and  beyond  it  a  range  of  moun- 
tains. Salt  can  be  seen  mixed  with  the  pale- 
brownish  mud  of  the  soil. 

Then  we  drive  across  a  third  basin,  large  and 
flat,  with  the  scattered  hills  getting  lower  and 
seemingly  worn  by  the  action  of  weather. 
They  are  not  so  corrugated  by  water-formed 
channels  as  the  previous  ones  we  had  passed. 
Twenty  feet  or  so  below  the  summit  of  the 
hills  a  white  sediment  of  salt  showed  itself 
plainly. 

The  fourth  basin  is  at  a  higher  level  than  the 
others — some  100  feet  or  so  above  the  third — 
and  is  absolutely  flat,  with  dark,  gravelly  soil. 

Azizawad  village  has  no  special  attraction 
beyond  the  protecting  wall  that  encloses  it — 
like  all  villages  of  Persia — and   the  domed   roofs 


250  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

of  houses  to  which  one  begins  to  get  recon- 
ciled. Next  to  it  is  the  very  handsome  fruit 
garden  of  Khale-es-Sultan. 

At  Khale  Mandelha  the  horses  are  changed. 
The  road  becomes  very  undulating,  w^ith  con- 
tinuous ups  and  dow^ns,  and  occasional  steep 
ascents  and  descents.  Glimpses  of  the  large  salt 
lake,  Daria-i-Nimak,  or  the  Masileh,  as  it  is  also 
called,  are  obtained,  and  eventually  v^e  had  quite 
a  pretty  view^  v^^ith  high  blue  mountains  in  the 
background  and  rocky  black  mounds  betw^een 
the  spectator  and  the  silvery  sheet  of  water. 

Aliabad  has  a  large  caravanserai  with  a  red- 
columned  portico  to  the  east  ;  also  a  special 
place  for  the  Sadrazam,  the  Prime  Minister, 
when  travelhng  on  this  road  ;  a  garden  with 
a  few  sickly  trees,  and  that  is  all. 

On  leaving  the  caravanserai  one  skirts  the 
mountain  side  to  the  west,  and  goes  up  it  to  the 
horse  station  situated  in  a  most  desolate  spot. 
From  this  point  one  gets  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
the  whole  lake.  Its  waters,  owing  to  evapora- 
tion, seem  to  withdraw,  leaving  a  white  sedi- 
ment of  salt  along  the  edge.  The  road  from  the 
Khafe-khana  runs  now  in  a  perfectly  straight  line 
S.W.,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  short 
incline,  is  afterwards  quite  flat,  passing  along  and 
very  little  above  the  lake  shore,  from  which  the 
road  is  about  one  mile  distant.  The  lake  is  to 
the  S.E.  of  the  road  at  this  point.  To  the 
S.W.,  W.,  N.W.,  N.,  Hes  a  long  row  of  dark- 
brown  hills  which  circle  round  the  valley  we 
are  about  to  cross. 


xxiii  A  GHASTLY  SUNSET  251 

The  sunset  on  that  particular  night  was  one 
in  which  an  amateur  painter  would  have  revelled. 
A  dirty-brown  foreground  as  flat  as  a  billiard- 
table — a  sharp  cutting  edge  of  blue  hill-tops 
against  a  bilious  lemon-yellow  sky  blending  into 
a  ghastly  cinabrese  red,  which  gradually  vanished 
into  a  sort  of  lead  blue.  There  are  few 
countries  where  the  sun  appears  and  disappears 
above  and  from  the  earth's  surface  with  less  glow 
than  in  Persia.  Of  course,  the  lack  of  moisture 
in  the  atmosphere  largely  accounts  for  this. 
During  the  several  months  I  was  in  the  country 
— though  for  all  I  know  this  may  have  been 
my  misfortune  only — I  never  saw  more  than 
half  a  dozen  sunsets  that  were  really  worth 
intense  admiration,  and  these  were  not  in 
Western  Persia.  The  usual  sunsets  are  effects 
of  a  washed-out  sort,  with  no  force  and  no 
beautiful  contrasts  of  lights  and  colours  such  as 
one  sees  in  Egypt,  in  Morocco,  in  Spain,  Italy, 
or  even,  with  some  amount  of  toning  down,  in 
our  little  England. 

The  twilight  in  Persia  is  extremely  short. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

Severe  wind — Kum,  the  holy  city — Thousands  of  graves — 
Conservative  Mullahs — Ruin  and  decay — Leather  tanning 
— The  gilt  dome — Another  extortion — Ingenious  bellows 
— Damovend — The  scenery — Passangun — Evening  prayers 
— A  contrivance  for  setting  charcoal  alight — Putrid  water — 
Post  horses — Sin  Sin — Mirage — Nassirabad — Villages  near 
Kashan. 

On  a  deserted  road,  sleepy  and  shaken,  with 
the  wind  blowing  so  hard  that  it  tore  and  carried 
away  all  the  cotton  curtains  of  the  carriage,  I 
arrived  at  Kum  (3,200  feet  above  sea  level)  in 
the  middle  of  the  night.  The  distance  covered 
between  Teheran  and  Kum  was  twenty-four 
farsakhs,  or  ninety-six  miles. 

As  we  approached  the  holy  city  there 
appeared  to  be  a  lot  of  vegetation  around,  and 
Sadek  and  the  coachman  assured  me  that  this 
was  a  region  where  pomegranates  were  grown  in 
profusion,  and  the  castor-oil  plant,  too.  Cotton 
was,  moreover,  cultivated  with  success. 

Kum  is,  to  my  mind,  and  apart  from  its 
holiness,  one  of  the  few  really  picturesque  cities 
of  Persia.  I  caught  the  first  panoramic  glimpse 
of  the  shrine  and  mosque  at  sunrise  from  the 
roof  of  the  post  house,  and  was  much  impressed 


CH.  XXIV  A   HOLY  SHRINE  253 

by  its  grandeur.  Amidst  a  mass  of  semi- 
spherical  mud  roofs,  and  beyond  long  mud  walls, 
rise  the  gigantic  gilded  dome  of  the  mosque, 
two  high  minarets,  and  two  shorter  ones  with 
most  beautifully  coloured  tiles  inlaid  upon  their 
walls,  the  general  effect  of  which  is  of  most 
delicate  greys,  blues  and  greens.  Then  clusters 
of  fruit  trees,  numerous  little  minarets  all  over 
the  place,  and  ventilating  shafts  above  the  better 
buildings  break  the  monotony  agreeably. 

Kum,  I  need  hardly  mention,  is  one  of  the 
great  pilgrimages  of  Mahommedans.  Happy 
dies  the  man  or  woman  whose  body  will  be  laid 
at  rest  near  the  sacred  shrine,  wherein — it  is 
said — lie  the  remains  of  Matsuma  Fatima. 
Corpses  are  conveyed  here  from  all  parts  of  the 
country.  Even  kings  and  royal  personages  are 
buried  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the 
shrine.  Round  the  city  there  are  thousands  of 
mud  graves,  which  give  quite  a  mournful  appear- 
ance to  the  holy  city  There  are  almost  as 
many  dead  people  as  living  ones  in  Kum  ! 

Innumerable  Mullahs  are  found  here  who  are 
very  conservative,  and  who  seem  to  resent  the 
presence  of  European  visitors  in  the  city. 
Access  to  the  shrine  is  absolutely  forbidden  to 
foreigners. 

Immense  sums  of  money  are  brought  daily  to 
the  holy  city  by  credulous  pilgrims,  but  no 
outward  signs  of  a  prosperous  trade  nor  of  fine 
streets  or  handsome  private  buildings  can  be 
detected  on  inspecting  the  bazaar  or  streets  of 
the  town.      On   the  contrary,  the  greater  part  of 


254  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

the  residences  are  in  a  hopeless  state  of  decay, 
and  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  to  all 
appearance,  little  above  begging  point. 

Leather,  tanned  with  the  bark  of  the  pome- 
granate, and  cheap  pottery  are  the  chief  industries 
of  the  holy  city.  On  inquiring  what  becomes 
of  all  the  wealth  that  comes  into  the  town,  a 
Persian,  with  a  significant  gesture,  informed  me 
that  the  Mullahs  get  it  and  with  them  it 
remains. 

The  handsome  dome  over  the  shrine  was  begun 
by  order  of  Hussein  Nadir  Shah,  but  the 
gorgeous  gilding  of  the  copper  plates  was  not 
finished  till  a  few  years  ago  by  Nasr-ed-din 
Shah.  A  theological  college  also  exists  at  this 
place.  There  is  a  station  here  of  the  Indo- 
European  Telegraphs,  with  an  Armenian  in 
charge  of  it. 

Much  to  my  disgust,  I  was  informed  that  the 
owner  of  the  post-house  had  the  monopoly  of 
the  traffic  on  the  track  for  six  or  seven  farsakhs 
more,  and  so  travellers  were  compelled  to  submit 
to  a  further  extortion  by  having  to  hire  another 
wheeled  conveyance  instead  of  being  able  to 
ride.  This  time  I  chartered  a  victoria,  and  off" 
we  went  as  usual  at  a  gallop. 

Two  horses  had  to  be  sent  ahead  while  the 
carriage  was  driven  with  only  two  animals 
through  the  narrow  streets  of  the  bazaar,  covered 
over  with  awnings  or  with  domed  perforated 
roofs.  The  place  had  a  tawdry,  miserable 
appearance,  the  leather  shops  being  the  only 
interesting  ones,  with  the  many  elaborate  saddles, 


XXIV  INGENIOUS  BELLOWS  255 

harness,  saddle-bags,  and  horses'  ornamentations 
displayed  on  nails  along  the  walls. 

I  saw  in  a  blacksmith's  shop  an  ingenious 
device  to  create  a  perpetual  draught  with 
bellows.  The  big  bellows  were  double  and 
allowed  sufficient  room  to  let  two  boys  stand 
between  the  two.  The  boys  clinging  to  handles 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  bellows  and  using  the 
weight  of  their  bodies  now  to  the  right,  then  to 
the  left,  inflated  first  one  then  the  other,  the 
wind  of  each  bellow  passing  through  a  common 
end  tube  and  each  being  in  turn  refilled  with 
air  while  the  other  was  blowing.  This  human 
pendulum  arrangement  was  carried  on  with 
incredible  rapidity  by  the  two  boys,  who  dashed 
their  bodies  from  one  side  to  the  other  and 
back,  keeping  steady  time  and  holding  their 
feet  stationary,  but  describing  an  almost  com- 
plete semicircle  with  the  remainder  of  the 
body,  the  whole  length  of  the  boy  forming 
the    radius. 

There  was  a  shop  or  two  where  glass  was 
being  blown,  and  numerous  fruit-shops  with 
mountains  of  pomegranates,  water-melons  and 
grapes.  At  the  entrance  of  the  mosques  crowds 
of  people  stood  waiting  for  admission,  some 
praying  outside. 

Once  out  of  the  town  the  extra  two  horses, 
which  were  waiting  at  the  gate,  were  harnessed, 
and  as  we  sped  along,  the  lungs  rejoiced  in  the 
pure  air  of  which  the  stuffy,  cellar-like  bazaar 
had  afforded  none. 

Behind,     in      the      far      distance,     Damcwend 


256  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Mountain,  covered  with  snow,  could  still  be 
seen  rising  high  above  everything  It  was  un- 
doubtedly a  good-looking  mountain.  To  the 
south-west  and  west  lay  indented  hills  of  the 
most  curious  shapes  and  colours — one,  par- 
ticularly, like  a  roof,  with  a  greenish  base  sur- 
mounted by  a  raw-sienna  top  ;  a  twin-sister  hill 
further  west  presented  the  same  peculiarities. 
In  the  distant  mountains  to  the  west  the  same 
characteristics  were  apparent,  the  greenish 
stratum  below  extending  all  along  and  increas- 
ing in  depth  towards  the  south. 

The  road — if  one  may  call  it  so — was 
extremely  bad  and  hardly  fit  for  wheeled  traffic. 
After  leaving  Kum  the  vegetation  ceased,  and 
it  was  only  at  Langherut  village  that  a  patch  of 
green  refreshed  the  eye. 

A  few  strolling  wayfarers  crowded  round 
when  the  carriage  stopped  to  give  the  horses  a 
rest  under  the  shade  of  a  tree,  and  Sadek' was 
cross-examined  about  the  Sahib  whom  he  was 
accompanying.  It  was  quite  amusing  to  hear 
one's  self  and  one's  doings  commented  upon  in 
the  most  open  manner,  regardless  of  one's 
personal  feelings,  which  are  better  discarded 
altogether  while  travelling  in  Persia.  There  is 
absolutely  nothing  private  in  the  land  of  Iran. 
One's  appearance,  one's  clothes,  the  quantity  of 
food  one  eats,  the  amount  of  money  one  carries, 
where  one  comes  from  and  where  one  goes, 
whom  one  knows,  one's  servants,  one's  rifles, 
one's  cameras, — everything  is  remarked  upon, 
as  if  one  were  not  present.      If  one  possesses  no 


XXIV  EVENING  PRAYERS  257 

false  pride  and  a  sense  of  humour,  a  deal  of 
entertainment  is  thus  provided  on  the  road, 

Passangun  could  be  perceived  in  the  distance, 
and  a  dreary,  desolate  place  it  was  when  one 
got  there.  In  the  way  of  architecture,  we  found 
a  large  tumbling-down  caravanserai,  a  tea-shop, 
and  the  Chappar  Khana  (the  post-house).  As 
to  vegetation,  thirteen  sickly  trees,  all  counted. 
Barren,  uninteresting  country  surrounded  the 
halting  place. 

I  spent  here  a  pleasant  hour  while  waiting  for 
my  luggage  to  arrive  on  pack  animals.  A 
caravan  of  some  fifty  horses  and  mules  had 
halted  at  sunset,  and  a  number  of  pilgrims,  with 
beards  dyed  bright-red,  were  making  their 
evening  salaams  towards  Mecca.  Having 
removed  shoes  and  duly  washed  their  feet  and 
hands,  they  stood  erect  on  the  projecting 
platform  of  the  caravanserai,  and  after  consider- 
able adjusting  of  caps  and  head-scratching, 
assumed  a  meditative  attitude,  head  bent  forward, 
and  muttered  prayers  with  hands  down.  Then 
the  hands  were  raised  flat  before  the  face,  with 
a  bow.  Kneeling  followed,  with  hands  first 
resting  on  the  knees,  then  raised  again  to  cover 
the  face,  after  which,  with  the  palms  of  the 
hands  resting  flat  on  the  ground,  the  head  was 
brought  down  until  it  touched  the  ground  too. 
A  standing  position  was  further  assumed,  when 
the  temples  were  touched  with  the  thumb  while 
prayers  were  recited,  and  then  the  petitioners 
stooped  low  and  fell  a  second  time  on  their  knees, 
saying  the  beads  of  their  rosaries.     The  forehead 

VOL  I.  S 


258  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

was  made   to    touch   the    ground    several  times 
before  the  evening  prayers  were  over. 

Next,  food  was  cooked  in  the  small  fire  places 
of  the  caravanserai,  and  tea  brewed  in  large  quan- 
tities. The  inevitable  kalian  was  called  for,  and 
the  caravanserai  boy  brought  out  his  interesting 
little  arrangement  to  set  charcoal  quickly  ahght 
for  the  large  cup  of  the  kalian.  To  a  string 
three  feet  long,  hung  a  small  perforated  iron  cup, 
which  he  filled  with  charcoal,  one  tiny  bit  being 
already  alight.  By  quickly  revolving  the  con- 
trivance as  one  would  a  sling,  the  draught  forced 
through  the  apertures  in  the  cup  produced  quick 
combustion,  and  charcoal  was  at  once  distributed 
alight  among  the  kalians  of  the  impatient  guests. 

Much  amusement  and  excitement  was  caused 
among  the  pilgrims  by  a  fight  between  a  puppy- 
dog  and  five  or  six  small  goats.  Only  one  ot 
these  at  a  time  fought  the  dog,  while  the  others 
occupied  a  high  point  of  vantage  on  which  they 
had  hastily  climbed,  and  from  that  place  of 
security  displayed  a  keen  interest  in  the  fight. 

The  water  at  Passangun  was  extremely  bad. 
There  were  two  tanks  of  rain  water  drained  from 
the  hillside  along  a  dirty  channel  filled  with 
animal  refuse.  The  wells  were  below  the  ground 
level,  and  were  walled  and  domed  over  to 
prevent  too  rapid  an  evaporation  by  the  sun's 
rays.  The  water  was  pestilential.  It  had  a 
nasty  green  look  about  it,  and  patches  of  putrid 
matter  decomposing  visibly  on  its  surface.  The 
stench  from  it  when  stirred  was  sickening.  Yet 
the    natives    drank    it    and    found    it    all  right  ! 


XXIV  POST   HORSES 


259 


There    is    no   accounting  for  people's  taste,  not 
even  in  Persia. 

At  last,  from  this  point,  the  positive  torture  of 
driving  in  carriages  was  over,  and  Chappar  horses 
v^'ere  to  be  obtained.  The  saddles  were  got 
ready,  and  with  five  horses  we  made  a  start  that 
same  evening  for  Sin  Sin.  After  the  wretched 
bumping  and  thumping  and  being  thrown  about 
in  the  wheeled  conveyance  on  the  badly-kept 
road,  it  seemed  heavenly  to  be  ambling  along  at 
a  fairly  good  pace,  even  on  these  poor,  half- 
starved  animals,  which  could  not  in  all  honesty 
be  considered  to  afford  perfect  riding.  Indeed, 
if  there  ever  was  a  society  for  the  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  animals,  it  should  have  begun  its  work 
along  the  Persian  postal  roads.  The  poor  brutes 
— one  can  hardly  call  them  horses — are  bony 
and  starved,  with  sore  backs,  chests  and  legs, 
with  a  bleeding  tongue  almost  cut  in  two  and 
pitifully  swollen  by  cruelly-shaped  bits,  and  en- 
dowed with  stinking  digestive  organs  and  other 
nauseous  odours  of  uncared-for  sores  heated  by 
the  friction  of  never-removed,  clumsy,  heavy 
pads  under  the  saddles.  It  requires  a  pretty 
strong  stomach,  I  can  tell  you,  to  ride  them  at 
all.  Yet  the  poor  devils  canter  along,  when  they 
do  not  amble,  and  occasionally  gallop  clumsily 
on  their  unsteady,  skeleton-like  legs.  So  that, 
notwithstanding  everything,  one  generally  man- 
ages to  go  at  the  rate  of  six  or  seven  miles  an 
hour. 

If  the  horses  at  the  various  post-stations  have 
just    returned   from   conveying  the   post-bags,  an 

S   2 


26o  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

extra  sorry  time  is  in  store  for  the  traveller. 
The  poor  animals  are  then  so  tired  that  they 
occasionally  collapse  on  the  road.  I  invariably 
used  all  the  kindness  I  could  to  these  wretches, 
but  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  get  on,  as  I 
intended  to  proceed  in  the  greatest  haste  over 
the  better  known  parts  of  Persia. 

It  is  important  to  see  the  horses  fed  before 
starting  from  all  the  post-houses,  but  on  many 
occasions  no  food  whatever  could  be  procured 
for  them,  when,  of  course,  they  had  to  go 
without  it. 

Changing  horses  about  every  20  to  28  miles, 
and  being  on  the  saddle  from  fourteen  to  twenty 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four,  I  was  able  to  cover 
long  distances,  and  kept  up  an  average  of  from 
80  to  120  miles  daily.  One  can,  of  course, 
cover  much  greater  distances  than  these  in  one 
day,  if  one  is  fortunate  enough  to  get  good  and 
fresh  horses  at  the  various  stations,  and  if  one 
does  not  have  to  keep  it  up  for  a  long  period  of 
time  as  I  had  to  do. 

From  Sin  Sin  we  go  due  south  along  a  flat 
trail  of  salt  and  mud.  We  have  a  barrier 
of  mountains  to  the  south-west  and  higher 
mountains  to  the  south.  To  the  south-east  also 
a  low  ridge  with  another  higher  behind  it.  To 
the  north  we  leave  behind  low  hills. 

Sin  Sin  itself  is  renowned  for  its  water-melons, 
and  I,  too,  can  humbly  certify  to  their  excellence. 
I  took  a  load  of  them  away  for  the  journey. 

From  here  we  began  to  see  the  wonderful 
effects  of  deceitful  mirage,  extremely  common 


XXIV  MIRAGE  261 

all  over  Persia.  One  sees  beautiful  lakes  of 
silvery  v^ater,  vv^ith  clusters  of  trees  and  islands 
and  rocks  duly  reflected  upside  dov^n  in  their 
steady  v^aters,  but  it  is  all  an  optical  deception, 
caused  by  the  action  of  the  heated  soil  on  the 
expanding  air  immediately  in  contact  v^ith  it, 
v^hich,  seen  from  above  and  at  a  distance,  is  of  a 
bluish  white  tint  with  exactly  the  appearance 
and  the  mirror-like  qualities  of  still  water. 

Although  in  Central  Persia  one  sees  many  of 
these  effects  every  day,  they  are  sometimes  so 
marvellous  that  even  the  most  experienced 
would  be  deceived. 

The  country  is  barren  and  desolate.  Kasima- 
bad  has  but  two  buildings,  both  caravanserais  ; 
but  Nassirabad,  further  on,  is  quite  a  large 
village,  with  domed  roofs  and  a  couple  of 
minarets.  On  the  road  is  a  large  caravanserai, 
with  the  usual  alcoves  all  round  its  massive 
walls.  Except  the  nice  avenue  of  trees  along  a 
refreshing  brook  of  limpid  water,  there  was 
nothing  to  detain  us  here  but  the  collision 
between  one  of  my  pack-horses  and  a  mule  of  a 
passing  caravan,  with  disastrous  results  to  both 
animals'  loads.  But,  with  the  assistance  of  one 
or  two  natives  commandeered  by  Sadek,  the 
luggage  scattered  upon  the  road  was  replaced 
high  on  the  saddles,  the  fastening  ropes  were 
pulled  tight  by  Sadek  with  his  teeth  and  hands, 
while  I  took  this  opportunity  to  sit  on  the  road- 
side to  partake  of  my  lunch — four  boiled  eggs,  a 
cold  roast  chicken,  Persian  bread,  some  cake, 
and  half  a  water-melon,  the  whole  washed  down 


262  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xxiv 

with  a  long  drink  of  clear  water.  Riding  at  the 
rate  I  did,  the  whole  day  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  nieht,  in  the  hot  sun  and  the  cold  winds  at 
night,  gave  one  a  healthy  appetite. 

As  we  got  nearer  Kashan  city,  the  villages  got 
more  numerous  ;  Aliabad  and  the  Yaze  (mosque) 
and  Nushabad  to  my  left  (east),  with  its  blue  tiled 
roof  of  the  mosque.  But  the  villages  were  so 
very  much  alike  and  uninteresting  in  colour  and 
in  architecture,  that  a  description  of  each  would 
be  unimportant  and  most  tedious,  so  that  I  will 
only  limit  myself  to  describing  the  more  typical 
and  striking  ones  with  special  features  that  may 
interest  the  reader. 

In  the  morning  of  October  9th  I  had  reached 
the  city  of  Kashan,  seventeen  farsakhs  (sixty- 
eight  miles)  from  Kum,  and  forty-one  farsakhs 
or  164  miles  from  Teheran,  in  two  days  and  a 
half  including  halts. 


CHAPTER   XXV 

Kashan  —  Silk  manufactories  —  Indo-European  Telegraph  — 
The  Zein-ed-din  tower  —  The  Meh-rab  shrine  —  The 
Madrassah  Shah— The  Panja  Shah— The  hand  of  Nazareth 
Abbas — The  Fin  Palace — Hot  springs — The  tragic  end  of 
an  honest  Prime  Minister — Ice  store-houses — Cultivation 
— In  the  bazaar — Brass  work — Silk — The  Mullahs  and 
places  of  worship — Wretched  post-horses — The  Gyabrabad 
caravanserai  —  An  imposing  dam  —  Fruit-tree  groves  — 
Picturesque  Kohrut  village. 

Kashan,  3,260  feet  above  sea  level,  is  famous 
for  its  gigantic  and  poisonous  scorpions,  for  its 
unbearable  heat,  its  capital  silk  works,  and  its 
copper  utensils,  vv^hich,  if  not  always  ornamental, 
are  proclaimed  everlasting.  The  silk  manu- 
factories are  said  to  number  over  three  hundred, 
including  some  that  make  silk  carpets,  of  world- 
wide renown.  The  population  is  75,000  souls  or 
thereabouts.  Nothing  is  ever  certain  in  Persia. 
There  are  no  hotels  in  the  city,  and  it  is  considered 
undignified  for  Europeans  to  go  to  a  caravanserai 
— of  which  there  are  some  three  dozen  in 
Kashan — or  to  the  Chappar  Khana. 

The  Indo-European  Telegraphs  have  a  large 
two-storied  building  outside  the  north  gate  of 
the  city,  in  charge  of  an  Armenian  clerk,  where, 


264  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

through  the  courtesy  of  the  Director  of  Tele- 
graphs, travellers  are  allowed  to  put  up,  and 
where  the  guests'  room  is  nice  and  clean,  with  a 
useful  bedstead,  washstand,  and  a  chair  or  two. 

A  capital  view  of  Kashan  is  obtained  from  the 
roof  of  the  Telegraph  building.  A  wide  road, 
the  one  by  which  I  had  arrived,  continues  to  the 
north-east  entrance  of  the  bazaar.  The  town 
itself  is  divided  into  two  sections — the  city 
proper,  surrounded  by  a  high  wall,  and  the 
suburbs  outside.  To  the  south-west,  in  the.  town 
proper,  rises  the  slender  tower  of  Zein-ed-din, 
sHghtly  over  100  feet  high,  and  not  unlike  a 
factory  chimney.  Further  away  in  the  distance 
— outside  the  city — the  mosque  of  Taj-ed-din 
with  its  blue  pointed  roof,  adjoins  the  famous 
Meh-rab  shrine,  from  which  all  the  most  ancient 
and  beautiful  tiles  have  been  stolen  gr  sold  by 
avid  Mullahs  for  export  to  Europe. 

Then  we  see  the  two  domes  of  the  mosque 
and  theological  college,  the  Madrassah  Shah, 
where  young  future  Mullahs  are  educated.  To 
the  west  of  the  observer  from  our  high  point  of 
vantage,  and  north-west  of  the  town,  lies  another 
mosque,  the  Panja  Shah,  in  which  the  hand  of 
one  of  the  prophets,  Nazareth  Abbas,  is  buried. 
A  life-size  hand  and  portion  of  the  forearm, 
most  beautifully  carved  in  marble,  is  shown  to 
devotees  in  a  receptacle  in  the  east  wall  of  the 
mosque.  The  actual  grave  in  which  the  real 
hand  lies  is  covered  with  magnificent  ancient 
tiles. 

It  is   with   a  certain   amount    of  sadness   that 


XXV  THE   FIN  PALACE  265 

one  gazes  on  the  old  Fin  Palace,  up  on  the  hills 
some  six  miles  to  the  west,  and  listens  to  the 
pathetic  and  repellent  tragedy  which  took  place 
within  its  garden  walls. 

The  square  garden  is  surrounded  by  a  high 
wall,  and  has  buildings  on  three  sides.  Marble 
canals,  fed  by  large  marble  tanks,  in  which  run 
streams  of  limpid  water,  intersect  the  garden  in 
the  middle  of  a  wide  avenue  of  dark  cypresses. 
The  garden  was  commenced  by  Shah  Abbas. 
The  Palace,  however,  was  built  by  Fath-Ali- 
Shah,  who  also  much  improved  the  gardens  and 
made  this  a  favourite  residence  durin<r  the  hot 
summer  months. 

There  is  here  a  very  hot  natural  spring  of 
sulphur  water,  and  copper,  which  is  said  to 
possess  remarkable  curative  qualities,  especially 
for  rheumatism  and  diseases  of  the  blood.  One 
bath  is  provided  for  men  and  another  for 
women. 

The  Palace,  with  its  quaint  pictures  and 
decorations  is  now  in  a  state  of  abandonment 
and  semi-collapse.  The  tragic  end  (in  1863  or 
1864,  I  could  not  clearly  ascertain  which)  at 
this  place  of  Mirza-Taki  Khan,  then  Prime 
Minister  of  Persia — as  honest  and  straight- 
forward a  politician  as  Persia  has  ever  possessed 
— adds  a  peculiar  gloom  to  the  place. 

A  man  of  humble  birth,  but  of  great  genius, 
Mirza-Taki  Khan,  rose  to  occupy,  next  to  the 
Shah,  the  highest  political  position  in  his 
country,  and  attempted  to  place  the  Govern- 
ment of  Persia  on  a  firm  basis,  and  to  eradicate 


266  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Intrigue  and  corruption.  To  this  day  his 
popularity  is  proverbial  among  the  lower  classes, 
by  whom  he  is  still  revered  and  respected  for  his 
uprightness.  The  Shah  gave  him  his  only  sister 
in  marriage,  but  unhappily  one  fine  day  his 
enemies  gained  the  upper  hand  at  Court.  He 
fell  into  disgrace,  and  was  banished  to  Kashan  to 
the  Fin  Palace.  Executioners  were  immediately 
sent  to  murder  him  by  order  of  the  Shah. 
Mirza-Taki  Khan,  when  their  arrival  was 
announced,  understood  that  his  end  had  come. 
He  asked  leave  to  commit  suicide  instead,  which 
he  did  by  having  the  arteries  of  his  arms  cut 
open.     He  bled  to  death  while  in  his  bath. 

Royal  regret  at  the  irreparable  loss  was 
expressed,  but  it  was  too  late.  The  body  of  the 
cleverest  statesman  Persia  had  produced  was 
conveyed  for  burial  to  the  Sanctuary  of  Karbala. 

One  cannot  help  being  struck,  in  a  stifling 
hot  place  like  Kashan,  to  find  large  ice  store- 
houses. Yet  plenty  of  ice  is  to  be  got  here 
during  the  winter,  especially  from  the  mountains 
close  at  hand.  These  ice-houses  have  a  pit  dug 
in  the  ground  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  are 
covered  over  with  a  high  conical  roof  of  mud. 
To  the  north-east,  outside  the  city,  in  the 
suburbs  a  great  many  of  these  ice  store-houses 
are  to  be  seen,  as  well  as  a  small,  blue-tiled  roof 
of  a  mosque,  the  pilgrimage  of  Habbib-Mussah. 

There  is  some  cultivation  round  about  Kashan, 
principally  of  cotton,  tobacco,  melons  and  water- 
melons, which  one  sees  in  large  patches  where- 
ever  there  is  water  obtainable. 


XXV  INDUSTRIOUS  PEOPLE  267 

Kashan  is  protected  by  mountains  to  the 
south  and  west,  and  by  low  hills  to  the  north- 
west, but  to  the  north  and  north-east  the  eye 
roams  uninterrupted  over  an  open,  flat,  dusty, 
dreary  plain  of  a  light  brown  colour  until  it 
meets  the  sky  line  on  the  horizon,  softly  dimmed 
by  a  thick  veil  of  disturbed  sand.  Due  east  lie 
the  Siah  Kuh  (mountains),  then  comes  another 
gap  in  the  horizon  to  the  south-east. 

In  the  dark  and  gloomy  bazaar  the  din  ot 
hundreds  of  wooden  hammers  on  as  many 
pieces  of  copper  being  made  into  jugs,  trays,  pots 
or  pans,  is  simply  deafening,  echoed  as  it  is 
under  the  vaulted  roofs,  the  sound  waves  clashing 
in  such  an  unmusical  and  confused  way  as  to  be 
absolutely  diabolical.  A  few  of  these  copper 
vessels  are  gracefully  ornamented  and  inlaid,  but 
the  majority  are  coarse  in  their  manufacture. 
They  are  exported  all  over  the  country.  The 
manufactured  silk,  the  other  important  product 
of  Kashan,  finds  its  way  principally  to  Russia. 

The  inhabitants  are  most  industrious  and, 
like  all  industrious  people,  are  extremely  docile, 
amenable  to  reason,  and  easy  to  manage.  The 
Mullahs  are  said  to  have  much  power  over  the 
population,  and,  in  fact,  we  find  in  Kashan  no 
less  than  18  mosques  with  five  times  that 
number  of  shrines,  counting  large  and  small. 

I  experienced  some  difficulty  in  obtaining 
relays  of  fresh  post  horses,  the  mail  having  been 
despatched  both  north  and  south  the  previous 
night,  and  therefore  no  horses  were  in  the 
station.      At  seven  in  the  evening  I  was  intornicil 


268  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

that  five  horses  had  returned  and  were  at  my 
disposal.  Twenty  minutes  later  the  loads  were 
on  their  saddles,  and  I  was  on  the  road  again. 

After  travelling  under  the  pitch-dark  vaulted 
bazaars  (where,  as  it  was  impossible  to  see  where 
one  was  going,  the  horses  had  to  be  led),  and 
threading  our  way  out  of  the  suburbs,  we 
travelled  on  the  flat  for  some  time  before  coming 
to  the  hilly  portion  of  the  road  where  it  winds 
its  way  up  at  quite  a  perceptible  gradient.  We 
had  no  end  of  small  accidents  and  trouble.  The 
horses  were  half-dead  with  fatigue.  They  had 
gone  48  miles  already  with  the  post,  and  without 
rest  or  food  had  been  sent  on  with  me  for  28 
more  miles  !  The  poor  wretches  collapsed 
time  after  time  on  the  road  under  their  loads, 
although  these  were  very  light,  and  my  servant 
and  I  and  the  chappar  boy  had  to  walk  the 
whole  way  and  drag  the  animals  behind  us,  for 
they  had  not  sufficient  strength  to  carry  us. 
Even  then  their  knees  gave  way  every  now  and 
then,  and  it  was  no  easy  job  to  get  them  to 
stand  up  again.  One  of  them  never  did.  He 
died,  and,  naturally,  we  had  to  abandon  him. 

It  came  on  to  blow  very  hard,  and  with  the 
horses  collapsing  on  all  sides  and  the  loads 
getting  constantly  undone  owing  to  the  repeated 
falls  of  the  animals,  we  could  not  cover  more 
than  one  mile,  or  two,  an  hour.  Caravans 
generally  take  the  road  over  these  mountains 
during  the  day,  so  that  now  the  road  was  quite 
deserted  and  we  could  get  no  assistance  from 
any  one.      The  loss  of  one   horse  increased  our 


XXV  FILTHY  CARAVANSERAI  269 

difficulty,  as  it  involved  putting  more  weight  on 
the  other  horses. 

At  3.30  a.m.  we  managed  to  reach  the  cara- 
vanserai in  the  mountains  at  Gyabrabat  (Gabara- 
bat),  the  sight  of  which  was  enough  to  settle  all 
the  horses.  They  one  and  all  threw  themselves 
down  on  reaching  the  door,  and  it  was  not 
possible  to  make  them  stand  again.  To  continue 
the  journey  to  Kohrut  (Kohrud)  through  the 
night,  as  I  had  intended,  was  absolutely  out  of 
the  question,  so  we  roused  the  keeper  of  the 
hostelry  and  demanded  admission. 

The  man  was  extremely  uncivil,  as  he  said  he 
had  some  grievance  against  a  previous  English 
traveller,  but  on  being  assured  that  I  would  pay 
with  my  own  hands  for  all  I  got  and  not  through 
servants — a  rule  which  I  always  follow,  and 
which  saves  much  unpleasantness  and  unfair 
criticism  from  the  natives — he  provided  me  with 
all  I  required.  First  of  all  I  fed  the  horses. 
Then  Sadek  cooked  me  a  capital  supper.  Then 
I  gave  the  horses  and  myself  some  four  hours 
rest — that  refreshed  us  all  very  much. 

The  caravanserai  was  filthy.  All  the  small 
rooms  and  alcoves  were  occupied,  and  I  preferred 
to  sleep  out  in  the  yard,  sheltered  from  the 
wind  behind  the  huge  doorway.  I  had  with  me 
some  boxes  of  my  own  invention  and  manu- 
facture, which  had  accompanied  me  on  several 
previous  journeys,  and  which,  besides  a  num- 
ber of  other  purposes,  can  serve  as  a  bedstead. 
They  came  in  very  usefully  on  that  particular 
occasion. 


270  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

From  Gyabrabad  to  Kohrut  the  region  is 
supposed  to  be  a  famous  haunt  of  robbers. 
Undoubtedly  the  country  lends  itself  to  that 
kind  of  enterprise,  being  mountainous  and  much 
broken  up,  so  that  the  occupation  can  be  car- 
ried on  with  practical  impunity.  The  road  is 
among  rocks  and  boulders.  Although  there  are 
no  very  great  elevations  in  the  mountains  on 
either  side,  the  scenery  is  picturesque,  with  black- 
looking  rocky  slopes,  at  the  bottom  of  which  a 
tiny  and  beautifully  limpid  stream  descends 
towards  Kashan.  The  track  is  mostly  along  this 
stream. 

After  a  steep,  stony  incline  of  some  length, 
half-way  between  Gyabrabad  and  the  Kohrut 
pass,  one  comes  across  a  high  and  well-made 
dam,  the  work  of  a  speculator.  In  winter  and 
during  the  rains  the  water  of  the  stream  is  shut 
up  here  into  a  large  reservoir,  a  high  wall  being 
built  across  the  two  mountain  slopes,  and 
forming  a  large  lake.  The  water  is  then  sold  to 
the  city  of  Kashan.  If  in  due  course  of  time 
the  purchase-money  is  not  forthcoming,  the 
supply  is  cut  off  altogether  by  blocking  up  the 
small  aperture  in  the  dam — which  lets  out  the 
tiny  stream  the  course  of  which  we  have  been 
following  upwards. 

The  Persian  post-horse  is  a  most  wonderful 
animal.  His  endurance  and  powers  of  recovery 
are  simply  extraordinary.  Having  been  properly 
fed,  and  enjoyed  the  few  hours'  rest,  the  animals, 
notwithstanding  their  wretched  condition  and 
the  bad  road,  went  fairly  well. 


TnK  Track  ai,oxg   riii'.   KniiKir  Dam. 


V 


^ 


^n>r>Ci^>.r* 


XXV  A  PICTURESQUE  VILLAG  271 

On  nearing  Kohrut  one  is  agreeably  surprised 
to  find  among  these  barren  mountains  healthy 
patches  of  agriculture  and  beautiful  groves  of 
fruit-trees.  The  fruit  is  excellent  here, — apples, 
plums,  apricots,  walnuts,  and  the  Kohrut  potatoes 
are  said  (by  the  people  of  Kohrut)  to  be  the  best 
in  the  v^orld.  The  most  remarkable  thing  about 
these  patches  of  cultivation  is  that  the  soil  in 
which  they  occur  has  been  brought  there — the 
mountain  itself  being  rocky — and  the  imported 
earth  is  supported  by  means  of  strong  stone  walls 
forming  long  terraces.  This  speaks  very  highly 
for  the  industry  of  the  natives,  who  are  ex- 
tremely hardworking.  We  go  through  these 
delightful  groves  for  nearly  one  mile,  when 
suddenly  we  find  ourselves  in  front  of  Kohrut 
village,  most  picturesquely  perched  on  the  steep 
slope  of  the  mountain. 

The  houses  are  of  an  absolutely  difi^erent 
type  from  the  characteristically  domed  Persian 
hovels  one  has  so  far  come  across.  They  have 
several  storeys,  two  or  even  three — an  extremely 
rare  occurrence  in  Persian  habitations.  The 
lower  windows  are  very  small,  like  slits  in  the 
wall,  but  the  top  windows  are  large  and  square, 
usually  with  some  lattice  woodwork  in  front  of 
them.  The  domed  roofs  have  been  discarded, 
owing  to  the  quantity  of  wood  obtainable  here, 
and  the  roofs  are  fiat  and  thatched,  supported  on 
long  projecting  beams  and  rafters.  Just  before 
entering  the  village  a  great  number  of  ancient 
graves  can  be  seen  dotted  on  the  mountain-side, 
and   along   the    road.     The    view    ot    the    place, 


272  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS        ch.  xxv 

with  its  beautiful  background  of  weird  moun- 
tains, and  the  positions  of  the  houses,  the  door 
of  one  on  the  level  with  the  roof  of  the  un- 
derlying one,  against  the  face  of  the  rock,  are 
most   striking. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  village  are  quite  polite 
and  friendly,  and  lack  the  usual  aggressiveness  so 
common  at  all  the  halting  places  in  Persia. 

Fresh  horses  were  obtained  at  the  Chappar 
Khana,  and  I  proceeded  on  my  journey  at  once. 
We  still  wound  our  way  among  mountains  going 
higher  and  higher,  until  we  got  over  the  Kuh-i- 
buhlan  (the  pass).  From  the  highest  point  a 
lovely  view  of  the  valley  over  which  we  had 
come  from  the  north-west  displayed  itself  in 
dark  brown  tints,  and  to  the  east  we  had  a 
mass  of  barren  mountains. 


A 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

Crossing  the  Pass — Held  up  by  robbers — Amusing  courtesy — 
Brigands  to  protect  from  brigands — Parting  friends — Soh — 
Biddeshk — Copper  and  iron — Robber  tribes — An  English- 
man robbed — A  feature  of  Persian  mountains — A  military 
escort — How  compensation  is  paid  by  the  Persian  Govern- 
ment— Murchikhar — Robbers  and  the  guards — Ghiez — 
Distances  from  Teheran  to  Isfahan. 

It  was  not  till  after  sunset  that  we  crossed  the 
Pass,  and,  the  horses  being  tired,  my  men  and  I 
were  walking  down  the  incline  on  the  other  side 
to  give  the  animals  a  rest.  It  was  getting  quite 
dark,  and  as  the  chappar  boy  had  warned  me 
that  there  were  brigands  about  the  neighbour- 
hood I  walked  close  to  my  horse,  my  revolver 
being  slung  to  the  saddle.  The  place  seemed 
absolutely  deserted,  and  I  was  just  thinking  how 
still  and  reposeful  the  evening  seemed,  the  noise 
of  the  horses'  hoofs  being  the  only  disturbing 
element  amid  quiescent  nature,  when  suddenly 
from  behind  innocent-looking  rocks  and  boulders 
leapt  up,  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  about  a  dozen 
well-armed  robbers,  who  attempted  to  seize  tlie 
horses.  Before  they  had  time  to  put  up  their 
rifles  they  found  themselves  covered  by  my  re- 
volver and  requested  to  drop  their  weapons  or  I 
VOL.  I  r 


274  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

would  shoot  them.  They  hastily  complied  with 
my  request,  and  instead  of  ransacking  my  bag- 
gage, as  they  had  evidently  designed  to  do,  had 
to  confine  themselves  to  polite  remarks. 

"  You  are  very  late  on  the  road,  sahib  ?  "  said 
one  brigand,  in  a  voice  of  assumed  kindness  and 
softness. 

"  Please  put  back  your  revolver.  We  will  not 
harm  you,"  said  suavely  and  persuasively  another, 
who  displayed  a  most  gaudy  waistcoat  which  he 
evidently  did  not  want  perforated. 

Sadek  was  in  a  great  state  of  excitement,  and 
entreated  me  not  to  shoot.  "  Persian  robbers," 
he  assured  me,  with  a  logic  of  his  own,  "  do  not 
kill  the  master  until  the  servant  has  been  killed, 
because  it  is  the  servant  who  is  in  charge  of  the 

luggage They  would  not  steal  anything 

now,  but  I  must  be  kind  to  these  fellows." 

As  is  usual  with  persons  accustomed  to  stalk 
other  persons,  I  did  not  fail  to  notice  that,  while 
trying  to  attract  my  attention  by  conversation, 
my  interlocutors  were  endeavouring  to  surround 
us.  But  I  checked  them  in  this,  and  warned 
them  that  I  had  met  many  brigands  before,  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  their  ways.  I  hoped 
they  would  not  compel  me  to  shoot,  which  I 
would  most  certainly  do  if  they  attempted  any 
tricks.  They  well  understood  that  it  was  risky 
to  try  their  luck,  so  they  changed  tactics  alto- 
gether. The  conversation  that  ensued  was 
amusing. 

"  Sahib,"  shouted  a  boisterous  robber,  very 
gaily  attired,  and  with  cartridges  in  profusion  in 


XXVI  FRIENDLY   BRIGANDS  275 

his  belt,  "  there  are  lots  of  brigands  near   here 
and  we  want  to  protect  you." 

"  Yes,  I  know  there  are  brigands  not  far  from 
here,"  I  assented. 

"  We  will  escort  you,  for  you  are  our  friend, 
and  if  we  lead  you  safely  out  of  the  mountains, 
maybe,  sahib,  you  will  give  us  backshish." 

I  felt  certain  that  I  could  have  no  better  pro- 
tection against  brigands  than  the  brigands  them- 
selves, and  preferred  to  have  them  under  my 
own  supervision  rather  than  give  them  a  chance 
of  attacking  us  unexpectedly  again  some  miles 
further  on.  Anyhow,  I  resolved  to  let  them 
come  as  far  as  the  next  pass  we  had  to  cross, 
from  which  point  the  country  would  be  more 
open  and  a  sudden  surprise  impossible.  So  I 
accepted  their  offer  with  a  politely  expressed 
condition  that  every  man  must  keep  in  front  of 
me  and  not  raise  his  rifle  above  his  waist  or  I 
would  send  a  bullet  through  him. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  we  parted  on  the 
summit  of  the  pass,  and  I  gave  them  a  good 
backshish — not  so  much  for  the  service  they 
had  rendered  me  as  for  relieving  for  a  few  hours 
the  monotony  of  the  journey.  They  were  grate- 
ful, and  were  the  most  civil  brigands  I  have  ever 
encountered. 

While  resting  on  the  pass  we  had  an  amicable 
conversation,  and  I  asked  them  where  they  got 
their  beautiful  clothes  and  the  profusion  of  gold 
and  silver  watch-chains. 

"  It  is  not  everybody  wc  meet,  sahib,  that  has 
a  formidable  revolver  like   yours,"  answered   the 

T  2 


276  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

boisterous  brigand,  with  a  fit  of  sarcastic  merri- 
ment, echoed  by  all  of  us. 

"  Yes,"  I  retorted  in  the  same  sarcastic  spirit, 
"  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  revolver,  possibly- 
next  time  I  came  along  this  road  I  might  meet 
the  company  dressed  up  like  sahibs,  in  my 
clothes  !  " 

I  advised  them  to  put  up  a  vv^hite  flag  of  truce 
next  time  they  sprang  out  from  behind  rocks 
with  the  intention  of  holding  up  another  En- 
glishman, or  surely  some  day  or  other  there 
would  be  an  accident. 

We  all  laughed  heartily,  and  parted  with 
repeated  salaams — and  my  luggage  intact. 

In  the  moonlight  I  took  the  precaution  to  see 
them  well  out  of  sight  on  one  side  of  the  pass 
before  we  began  to  descend  on  the  other,  and 
then  we  proceeded  down  the  steep  and  rocky 
incline. 

We  reached  Soh  (8,000  feet)  early  in  the 
morning,  and  went  on  to  the  Chappar  house  at 
Biddeshk.  Here  one  abandons  the  region  of 
the  Kehriz  Kohrud  and  Kale  Karf  mountains, 
west  and  east  of  the  road  respectively,  and  travels 
over  a  flat  sandy  country  devoid  of  vegetation 
and  water. 

Copper  and  iron  are  to  be  found  at  several 
places  in  the  mountains  between  Kashan  and 
Soh,  for  instance  near  Gudjar,  at  Dainum,  and 
at  Kohrut. 

October  is  the  month  when  the  Backhtiari 
tribes  are  somewhat  troublesome  previous  to 
their  return  to  winter  quarters.      A  great  many 


XXVI  A  HAUNT  OF  ROBBERS  277 

caravans  are  attacked  and  robbed  on  this  road, 
unless  escorted  by  soldiers.  Daring  attempts 
have  even  been  made  to  seize  caravans  of  silver 
bullion  for  the  Bank  of  Persia.  Only  a  few 
days  before  I  went  through,  an  English  gentle- 
man travelling  from  Isfahan  was  robbed  between 
Soh  and  Murchikhar  of  all  his  baggage,  money, 
and  clothes. 

The  country  lends  itself  to  brigandage.  One 
can  see  a  flat  plain  for  several  miles  to  the  north 
and  south,  but  to  the  west  and  east  are  most  in- 
tricate mountain  masses  where  the  robber  bands 
find  suitable  hiding  places  for  themselves  and  their 
booty.  To  the  north-west  we  have  flat  open 
country,  but  to  the  west  from  Biddeshk  there 
are  as  many  as  three  different  ranges  of  moun- 
tains. To  the  east  rises  the  peak  Kehriz  Natenz. 
A  great  many  low  hill  ranges  lie  between  the 
main  backbone  of  the  high  and  important  range 
extending  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and  the 
route  we  follow,  and  it  is  curious  to  notice,  not 
only  here  but  all  over  the  parts  of  Persia  I 
visited,  that  the  great  majority  of  sand  dunes, 
and  of  hill  and  mountain  ranges  face  north  or 
north-east.  In  other  words,  they  extend  either 
from  north-west  to  south-east,  or  roughly  from 
west  to  east  ;   very  seldom  from  north  to  south. 

From  Biddeshk  two  soldiers  insisted  on  es- 
corting my  luggage.  I  was  advised  to  take 
them,  for  in  default,  one  cannot  claim  compen- 
sation from  the  Persian  Government  should  the 
luggage  be  stolen.  In  the  case  of  bona  fide 
European    travellers,    robbed    on    the    road,    the 


278  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Persian  Government  is  extremely  punctual  in 
making  good  the  damage  sustained  and  paying 
ample  compensation. 

The  method  employed  by  the  local  Governor, 
responsible  for  the  safety  of  travellers  on  the 
road,  is  to  inflict  heavy  fines  on  all  the  natives  of 
the  district  in  which  the  robbery  has  occurred, 
— a  very  simple  and  apparently  effective  way,  it 
would  seem,  of  stopping  brigandage,  but  one 
which,  in  fact,  increases  it,  because,  in  order  to 
find  the  money  to  pay  the  fines,  the  natives  are 
driven  to  the  road,  each  successive  larceny  going 
towards  part  payment  of  the  previous  one. 

One  or  two  domed  reservoirs  of  rain-water  are 
found  by  the  road-side,  but  the  water  is  very  bad. 

The  soldiers,  laden  with  cartridges,  ran  along 
by  the  side  of  my  horses  and  pretended  to  keep 
a  sharp  look-out  for  robbers.  Every  now  and 
then  they  got  much  excited,  loaded  their  rifles, 
and  fired  away  shot  after  shot  at  phantom 
brigands,  whom,  they  said,  they  perceived 
peeping  above  sand  hills  a  long  way  ofi^. 

At  Murchikhar  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen. 
The  post-horses  were  very  good  here  and  I  was 
able  to  go  through  this  uninteresting  part  of  the 
road  at  a  good  speed  of  from  six  to  seven  miles  an 
hour.  To  the  west  the  mountains  were  getting 
quite  close,  and,  in  fact,  we  had  hills  all  round 
except  to  the  south-east.  Murchikhar  is  at  a 
fairly  high  altitude,  5,600  ft. 

One  still  heard  much  about  brigands.  Soldiers, 
armed  to  the  teeth,  insisted  on  accompanying  my 
luggage.     This,  of  course,  involved  endless  back- 


Chapparint, — THE  Author's  I'ost  Horses. 


I'KKSIAN     KS((>K  1     IIKIM;    AI     l'.Kli;.\M)S. 


XXVI  A  CURIOUS  ACCIDENT  279 

shish,  but  had  to  be  put  up  with,  as  it  is  one  of  the 
perquisites  of  the  guards  stationed  at  the  various 
stages.  I  have  heard  it  stated  that  if  one  does 
not  require  their  services  it  is  often  these  pro- 
tectors themselves  who  turn  into  robbers.  There 
is  a  guard-house  on  the  road,  and  the  two  soldiers 
stationed  there  told  us  that  a  large  band  of  thirty 
robbers  had  visited  them  during  the  early  hours 
of  the  morning,  and  had  stolen  from  them  all 
their  provisions,  money  and  tobacco  ! 

We  were  not  troubled  in  any  way,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  some  suspicious  horsemen  along 
way  off  making  for  the  mountains,  we  hardly 
met  a  soul  on  the  road. 

A  curious  accident  happened  to  one  of  my 
luggage  horses.  For  some  reason  of  his  own  he 
bolted,  and  galloped  to  the  top  of  one  of  the 
kanat  cones,  when  getting  frightened  at  the  deep 
hole  before  him  he  jumped  it.  His  fore-legs 
having  given  way  on  the  steep  incline  on  the 
other  side,  he  fell  on  his  head  and  turned  a 
complete  somersault,  landing  flat  on  his  back, 
where,  owing  to  the  packs,  he  remained  with 
his  legs  up  in  the  air  until  we  came  to  his  aid 
and  freed  him  of  the  loads. 

On  nearing  Ghiez  the  track  is  over  undulating 
country,  but  after  that  the  road  to  Isfahan  is 
good  and  flat,  but  very  sandy  and  dusty.  I  got  to 
Ghiez  in  the  evening  but  proceeded  at  once  to 
Isfahan.  We  galloped  on  the  twelve  miles,  and 
in  less  than  two  hours  I  was  most  hospitably 
received  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Prcccc,  the  British 
Consul-Gcncral  in  Isfahan. 


28o 


ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xxvi 


The  distances  from  Teheran  are  as  follows  : — 


From  Teheran  to  Kum 24  farsakhs 

Kum  to  Kashan    17 

Kashan  to  Kohrut  ....  7 
Kohrut  to  Biddeshk  ...  6 
Biddeshk  to  Murchikhar  6 
Murchikhar  to  Ghiez  .  .  6 
Ghiez  to  Isfahan 3 


96  mi 
68 

28 

24 

24 
24 

12 


es. 


Total 69  farsakhs  or  276  miles. 

The  time  occupied  in  covering  the  whole 
distance,  including  halts  and  delays,  was  some- 
what less  than  four  days. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

Missionary  work  in  Persia — Educational  and  medical  work — 
No  Mahommedan  converts — Bibles  —  Julfa — Armenian 
settlement — Conservative  customs — Armenian  women — 
Their  education — The  Armenian  man — Europeans — A 
bird's-eve  view  of  Isfahan — Armenian  graveyard — A  long 
bridge — The  Rev.  James  Loraine  Garland — Mission  among 
the  Jews. 

There  is  little  to  say  of  interest  in  connection 
with  Missionary  work  in  Persia,  except  that  a 
considerable  amount  of  good  is  being  done  in  the 
educational  and  medical  line.  There  are  well- 
established  schools  and  hospitals.  The  most 
praiseworthy  institution  is  the  supply  of  medicinal 
advice  and  medicine  gratis  or  at  a  nominal  cost. 
As  far  as  the  work  of  Christianising  is  concerned, 
it  must  be  recollected  that  Missionaries  are  only 
allowed  in  Persia  on  sufferance,  and  are  on  no 
account  permitted  to  make  converts  among  the 
Mahommedans.  Any  Mussulman,  man,  woman, 
or  child,  who  discards  his  religion  for  Chris- 
tianity, will  in  all  probability  lose  his  life. 

If  any  Christianising  work  is  done  at  all  it 
has  to  be  done  surreptitiously  and  at  a  consider- 
able amount  of  risk  to  both  convert  and  con- 
verter.     Some  interest  in  the  Christian  religion  is 


282  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

nevertheless  shown  by  Mussulmans  of  the  younger 
generation — who  now  are  practically  atheists 
at  heart — but  whether  this  interest  is  genuine  or 
not  it  is  not  for  me  to  say.  There  is  much  in 
the  Bible  that  impresses  them,  and  I  understand 
that  constant  applications  are  made  for  copies  of 
translations  into  the  Persian  language.  To  avoid 
the  great  waste  which  occurred  when  Bibles  were 
given  away  for  nothing,  a  nominal  charge  is  now 
made  so  as  to  prevent  people  throwing  the  book 
away  or  using  it  for  evil  purposes. 

In  Isfahan  itself  there  are  no  missionaries 
among  the  Mahommedans,  but  some  are  to  be 
found  at  Julfa,  a  suburb  of  Isfahan,  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Zindah-rud  (river).  Julfa  was  in 
former  days  a  prosperous  Armenian  settlement 
of  some  30,000  inhabitants,  but  is  now  mostly 
in  ruins  since  the  great  migration  of  Armenians 
to  India. 

There  is  an  Armenian  Archbishop  at  Julfa. 
He  has  no  real  power,  but  is  much  revered  by 
the  Armenians  themselves.  He  provides  priests 
for  the  Armenians  of  India. 

A  handsome  cathedral,  with  elaborate  orna- 
mentations and  allegorical  pictures,  is  one  of  the 
principal  structures  in  Julfa. 

One  cannot  help  admiring  the  Armenians  of 
Julfa  for  retaining  their  conservative  customs 
so  long.  Within  the  last  few  years,  however, 
rapid  strides  have  been  made  towards  the  aban- 
donment of  the  ancient  dress  and  tongue.  At 
Julfa  the  Armenians  have  to  a  great  extent 
retained     their    native     language,    which     they 


XXVII  ARMENIANS  283 

invariably  speak  among  themselves,  although 
many  of  the  men  are  equally  fluent  in  Persian  ; 
but  in  cities  like  Teheran,  v^here  they  are  thrown 
into  more  direct  contact  w^ith  Persians,  the  Arme- 
nians are  almost  more  conversant  w^ith  Persian 
than  with  their  own  tongue.  The  men  and 
women  of  the  better  classes  have  adopted  Euro- 
pean clothes,  in  which  they  might  easily  be 
mistaken  for  Southern  Italians  or  Spaniards. 

But  in  Julfa  such  is  not  the  case,  and  the 
ancient  style  of  dress  is  so  far  maintained.  One 
is  struck  by  the  great  number  of  women  in  the 
streets  of  Julfa  and  the  comparative  lack  of  men. 
This  is  because  all  able-bodied  men  migrate  to 
India  or  Europe,  leaving  their  wom^en  behind 
until  sufficient  wealth  is  accumulated  to  export 
them  also  to  foreign  lands. 

The  education  of  the  Armenian  women  of 
the  middle  and  lower  classes  consists  principally 
in  knitting  socks — one  sees  rows  of  matrons  and 
girls  sitting  on  the  doorsteps  busily  employed 
thus, — and  in  various  forms  of  culinary  instruc- 
tion. But  the  better  class  woman  is  well 
educated  in  European  fashion,  and  is  bright  and 
intelligent. 

The  Armenian  woman,  in  her  ample  and 
speckless  white  robes,  her  semi-covered  face,  and 
beautiful  soft  black  eyes,  is  occasionally  captivat- 
ing. The  men,  on  the  other  hand,  although 
handsome,  have  something  indescribable  about 
them  that  does  not  make  them  particularly 
attractive. 

The     Armenian    man — the  true  type    of   the 


284  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Levantine — has  great  business  capacities,  wonder- 
ful facility  for  picking  up  languages,  and  a 
persuasive  flow  of  words  ever  at  his  command. 
Sceptical,  ironical  and  humorous — with  a  bright, 
amusing  manner  alike  in  times  of  plenty  or 
distress — a  born  philosopher,  but  uninspiring 
of  confidence, — with  eyes  that  never  look  straight 
into  yours,  but  are  ever  roaming  all  over  the 
place, — with  religious  notions  adaptable  to 
business  prospects, — very  hospitable  and  good- 
hearted,  given  to  occasional  orgies, — such  is  the 
Persian-Armenian  of  to-day. 

The  more  intelligent  members  of  the  male 
community  migrate  to  better  pastures,  where 
they  succeed,  by  steady  hard  work  and  really 
practical  brains,  in  amassing  considerable  fortunes. 
The  less  enterprising  remain  at  home  to  make 
and  sell  wine.  Personally,  I  found  Armenians 
surprisingly  honest. 

In  Julfa  the  Europeans — of  whom,  except  in 
business,  there  are  few — have  comfortable,  almost 
luxurious  residences.  The  principal  streets  of  the 
Settlement  are  extremely  clean  and  nice  for 
Persia.  The  Indo-European  Telegraph  Office  is 
also  here.  But  the  best  part  of  Julfa — from  a 
pictorial  point  of  view — is  the  extensive  Arme- 
nian cemetery,  near  a  picturesque  background 
of  hills  and  directly  on  the  slopes  of  Mount 
Sofia.  There  are  hundreds  of  rectangular  tomb- 
stones, many  v/ith  neatly  bevelled  edges,  and 
epitaphs  of  four  or  five  lines.  A  cross  is  engraved 
on  each  grave,  and  some  have  a  little  urn  at  the 
head  for  flowers. 


XXVII  ANCIENT   GRANDEUR  285 

From  the  roof  of  a  house  situated  at  the 
highest  point  of  the  indined  plane,  one  obtains 
a  magnificent  bird's-eye  view  of  Isfahan,  its 
ancient  grandeur  being  evinced  by  the  great 
expanse  of  ruins  all  round  it.  The  walls  of 
Isfahan  were  said  at  one  time  to  measure  twenty- 
four  miles  in  circumference.  Like  all  other  cities 
of  Persia,  Isfahan  does  not  improve  by  too  distant 
a  view.  The  mud  roofs  are  so  alike  in  colour  to 
the  dried  mud  of  the  streets  that  a  deadly 
monotony  must  follow,  as  a  matter  of  course  ; 
but  the  many  beautiful  green  gardens  round 
about  and  in  Isfahan  itself  are  a  great  relief  to 
the  eye,  and  add  much  attraction  to  the  land- 
scape. 

Most  prominent  of  all  buildings  in  the  city 
are  the  great  semi-spherical  dome  of  the  Mesjid- 
i-Shah,  with  its  gracefully  ornamented  tiles  ;  the 
Madrassah  ;  the  multi-columned,  flat-roofed 
Palace,  and  the  high  minarets  in  couples,  dotted 
all  over  the  city.  Then  round  about,  further 
away,  stand  any  number  of  curious  circular 
towers,  the  pigeon  towers. 

The  bed  of  the  river  between  Isfahan  and 
Julfa  is  over  six  hundred  feet  wide,  and  is 
spanned  by  three  bridges.  One  of  these,  with 
thirty-four  arches,  is  no  less  than  1,000  It.  in 
length,  but  is  much  out  of  repair. 

The  Armenian  Christians  of  Julfa  arc  enjoying 
comparative  safety  at  present,  but  until  quite 
recently  were  much  persecuted  by  the  Mahom- 
medans,  the  Mullahs  being  particularly  bitter 
against  them. 


286  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

One  sees  a  great  many  priests  about  Julfa,  and 
as  I  visited  the  place  on  a  Sunday  the  people 
looked  so  very  demure  and  sanctimonious — I  am 
speaking  of  the  Armenians — on  their  way  out  of 
church  ;  taciturn  and  with  head  low  or  talking 
in  a  whisper,  all  toddling  alongside  the  wall — as 
people  from  church  generally  do, — that  I  must 
confess  I  was  glad  when  I  left  this  place  of 
oppressive  sanctity  and  returned  to  Isfahan. 
Somehow,  Julfa  impresses  one  as  a  discordant 
note  in  Persian  harmony — although  a  very  fine 
and  pleasing  note  in  itself. 

Until  quite  recently  the  Persians  objected  to 
foreigners  residing  even  in  Isfahan  itself.  The 
officials  of  the  Bank  of  Persia  were  the  first  to 
take  up  their  abode  within  the  city  wall,  then 
soon  after  came  Mr.  Preece,  our  able  and 
distinguished  Consul-General. 

There  is  now  a  third  Englishman  residing  in 
Jubareh,  the  Jewish  quarter,  the  Revd.  James 
Loraine  Garland,  of  the  London  Society  for 
Promoting  Christianity  amongst  the  Jews  of 
Isfahan.  Why  such  a  Society  should  exist  at  all 
seems  to  any  one  with  a  sense  of  humour  be- 
wildering, but  on  getting  over  the  first  shock  of 
surprise  one  finds  that  of  all  the  Missions  to  Persia 
it  is  probably  the  most  sensible,  and  worked 
on  practical,  sound,  useful  lines.  Much  as  I  am 
unfavourably  inclined  towards  religious  Missions 
of  any  kind,  I  could  not  help  being  impressed 
with  Mr.  Garland's  very  interesting  work. 

The  first  time  I  saw  Mr.  Garland  I  was  nearly 
run   over  by  him   as  he  was  riding  a  race  with  a 


XXVII     AN  OPEN-MINDED  MISSIONARY     287 

sporting  friend  on  the  Golahek  road  near  Teheran 
— raising  clouds  of  dust,  much  to  the  concern  of 
passers-by. 

The  same  day  I  met  Mr.  Garland  in  Teheran, 
when  he  was  garbed  in  the  ample  clothes  of  the 
sporting  friend,  his  own  wardrobe  having  been 
stolen,  with  his  money  and  all  other  possessions, 
by  robbers  on  the  Isfahan-Kashan  road.  In 
fact,  he  was  the  Englishman  referred  to  in 
Chapter  XXVI. 

Being  somewhat  of  a  sportsman  myself,  this 
highly-sporting  clergyman  appealed  to  me.  Ex- 
tremely gentlemanly,  courteous,  tactful,  sensible 
and  open-minded,  he  was  not  a  bit  like  a 
missionary.  He  was  a  really  good  man.  His 
heart  and  soul  were  in  his  work.  He  very 
kindly  asked  me  to  visit  his  Mission  in  Isfahan, 
and  it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  see  a  Mission  worked 
on  such  sensible  lines. 

The  first  Mission  to  the  Jews  of  Persia  and 
Chaldea  was  established  in  1 844  by  the  Reverend 
Dr.  Stern,  who  resided  part  of  the  year  in 
Bagdad,  and  the  remainder  in  Isfahan.  The 
work  was  up-hill,  and  in  1865  the  Mission  was 
suspended. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 

The  Mission  among  Jews — Schools  for  boys  and  girls — A 
practical  institution — The  Jews  of  Persia — Persecutioii  by 
Persians — Characteristics  of  Jews — Girls — Occupations — 
Taxation — The  social  level  of  Jews. 

From  October,  1889,  to  December,  1891,  a 
Christianised  Jew  of  Teheran,  named  Mirza 
Korollah,  worked  in  Isfahan  as  the  representative 
of  the  Society  for  promoting  Christianity  among 
the  Jews.  A  Bible  depot  was  opened,  and  a 
school  started  at  the  request  of  the  Jews  them- 
selves. In  December,  1891,  however,  Mirza 
Korollah  was  banished  from  the  city,  and  the 
work  was  again  interrupted. 

In  1897,  '^^'  Garland  volunteered  to  under- 
take the  work  in  Persia,  and  his  offer  was  gladly 
accepted.  On  his  arrival  in  Isfahan  he  found, 
he  told  me,  a  prosperous  boys'  school,  that  had 
been  re-opened  in  1894  by  a  native  Jewish 
Christian,  who  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Joseph 
Hakim,  and  who  carried  on  the  educational  work 
under  the  supervision  of  members  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  resident  in  Julfa.  It  was 
deemed  advisable  to  commence  a  night-school, 
as  many  of  the  boys  were  unable  to  attend  day 


CH.  XXVIII    PRACTICAL  MISSION  WORK       289 

classes.      The   scheme   answered   very    w^ell,   and 
has  been  steadily  continued. 

As  many  as  200  boys  attended  the  school  daily 
in  February,  1898,  a  fact  that  shows  the  success 
of  the  new  enterprise  from  the  very  beginning. 

At  the  invitation  of  a  number  of  Jewesses,  Miss 
Stuart,  the  Bishop  of  Waiapu's  daughter,  kindly 
consented  to  go  over  twice  a  week  to  the  Jewish 
quarter  to  instruct  them  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
This  led  to  the  commencement  of  a  girls' 
school  with  twelve  pupils,  at  a  time  of  great 
turmoil  and  anxiety.  However,  the  experiment 
had  the  happiest  results. 

It  was  not,  nevertheless,  till  1899  that  Mr. 
Garland  was  able  to  take  up  his  abode  in  the 
Jewish  quarter.  He  met  with  no  opposition 
whatever  from  Mahommedans  or  Jews.  The 
usual  Sunday  service,  attended  by  converts  and 
inquirers,  and  a  Saturday  afternoon  class  were 
commenced  in  1899,  and  have  uninterruptedly 
continued  to  the  present  time. 

To  me,  personally,  the  most  important  part  of 
the  Mission,  and  one  to  which  more  time  is 
devoted  than  to  praying,  was  the  excellent  car- 
pentry class  for  boys,  begun  in  1900,  and  the 
carpet-weaving  apparatus  set  up  on  the  pre- 
mises for  the  girls.  The  former  has  been  a  great 
success,  even  financially,  and  is  paying  its  way. 
The  latter,  although  financially  not  yet  a  success, 
is  of  great  value  in  teaching  the  girls  how  to 
weave.  Necessarily,  so  many  hands  have  to  be 
employed  in  the  manufacture  of  a  large  carpet, 
and  the  time  spent  in  the  manuracturc  is  so  long, 

VOL.    I  V 


290  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  expect  financial  pros- 
perity from  mere  beginners  ;  but  the  class  teaches 
the  girls  a  way  to  earn  money  for  themselves  in 
future  years. 

Both  trades  were  selected  by  Mr.  Garland,  par- 
ticularly because  they  were  the  most  suitable  in  a 
country  where  Jews  are  excluded  from  the  more 
honest  and  manly  trades,  and  Jewesses  often 
grow  up  to  be  more  of  a  hindrance  than  a  help 
to  their  husbands.  Worse  still  is  the  case  of 
Jews  who  become  Christians  ;  they  have  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  earning  their  living  at  all. 

These  industrial  occupations  are  a  great  practi- 
cal help  to  the  studies  of  the  pupils,  who  are  taught, 
besides  their  own  language,  Persian  and  Hebrew, 
and,  if  they  wish,  English,  geography,  etc. 

More  frivolous  but  less  remunerative  forms  of 
recreation,  such  as  cricket,  tennis,  football,  or 
gymnastic  drills, — which  invariably  accompany 
Christianity  in  the  East,  and  develop  most  parts 
of  a  convert's  anatomy  except  his  brain, — have 
not  been  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  among 
the  Jews  of  Isfahan,  who  would,  moreover,  think 
our  best  English  games  or  muscle-developers  in 
the  highest  degree  indecorous  and  unseemly. 

On  the  whole  the  Society's  work  among  the 
Jews  of  Teheran,  Hamadan  and  Isfahan  has  been 
most  encouraging,  and  this  is  to  be  put  down 
entirely  to  the  tact  and  personal  influence  of  Mr. 
Garland,  who  is  greatly  respected  by  Jews  and 
Mahommedans  alike.  No  better  testimony  to 
the  appreciation  of  his  work  could  exist  than  the 
fact    that    in    his    interesting  journeys    through 


XXVIII  THE  JEWS  OF  ISFAHAN  291 

Persia,    he   is    frequently    invited    to    preach    in 
crowded  synagogues. 

It  seems  probable  that  the  Jew^s  of  Persia  are 
descendants  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  and  more  prob- 
able still  that  Jew^s  have  resided  in  Isfahan  from 
its  earliest  foundation. 

In  the  tenth  century — under  the  Dilemi 
dynasty — Isfahan  consisted  of  tw^o  cities,  Ya- 
hoodieh  (Jev^ry)  and  Shehristan  (the  City).  In 
the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  according  to 
Benjamin  of  Tudela,  the  Jews  of  Isfahan  num- 
bered  15,000. 

At  present  they  number  about  5,000.  They 
are  mostly  pedlars  by  profession,  or  engaged  in 
making  silk  thread  (Abreesham  Kar,Charkhtabee, 
etc).  There  are  a  few  merchants  of  comparative 
influence.  Jewellers  and  traders  in  precious 
stones,  brokers  and  wine-sellers  are  frequent,  but 
the  majority  consists  almost  entirely  of  diviners, 
musicians,  dancers — music  and  dancing  are  con- 
sidered low,  contemptible  occupations  in  Persia 
— scavengers,  and  beggars. 

The  Jews  of  Isfahan,  like  those  of  all  other 
cities  in  Persia,  have  been  subjected  to  a  great 
deal  of  oppression.  There  is  a  story  that 
Timour-i-Lang  (Tamerlane — end  of  14th  cen- 
tury) was  riding  past  a  synagogue  in  Isfahan, 
where  the  Mesjid-i-Ali  now  stands,  and  that  the 
Jews  made  such  a  horrible  noise  at  their  prayers 
(in  saying  the  "  Shema,  Israel  "  on  the  Day  of 
Atonement)  that  his  horse  bolted  and  he  was 
thrown  and  lamed.  Hence  his  name,  and 
hence    also    a    terrible    massacre    of    the   Jews, 

u    2 


292  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

which  reduced  their  number  to  about  one- 
third. 

Even  to  this  day  it  is  not  easy  for  Jews  to 
obtain  justice  against  Mahommedans.  Only  as 
recently  as  1901  a  Jew  was  murdered  in  cold 
blood  a  few  miles  from  Isfahan,  and  his  body 
flung  into  the  river.  Although  the  murder  had 
been  witnessed,  and  the  murderer  was  well 
known,  no  punishment  was  ever  inflicted  upon 
him. 

The  Jews  of  Isfahan  possess  striking  features, 
as  can  be  seen  by  a  characteristic  head  of  a  man 
reproduced  in  the  illustration.  The  face  is 
generally  very  much  elongated,  with  aquiline 
nose  of  abnormal  length  and  very  broad  at  the 
nostrils.  The  brow  is  heavy,  screening  deeply- 
sunken  eyes  revealing  a  mixed  expression  of  sad- 
ness and  slyness,  tempered  somewhat  by  probable 
abuse  of  animal  qualities.  Of  a  quiet  and  rather 
sulky  nature — corroded  by  ever-unsatisfied  avidity 
— assumedly  courteous,  but  morose  by  nature, — 
with  a  mighty  level  head  in  the  matter  of 
business  ;  such  is  the  Jew  of  Isfahan.  He  is 
extremely  picturesque,  quite  biblical  in  his  long 
loose  robe  and  skull  cap,  with  turban  wound 
tight  round  his  head. 

Jewish  girls  when  very  young  are  nice-looking 
without  being  beautiful,  very  supple  and  pensive, 
and  with  expressive  eyes.  They  lack  the  un- 
steady, insincere  countenance  of  the  men,  and 
have  reposeful,  placid  faces,  with  occasional 
good  features.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  character 
in  their  firmly  closed  lips,  the  upper  lip   being 


IliWlSll    (ilUl.S,     IsiAllAN. 


A\     I  SI- A  I  IAN     |l.U. 


XXVIII  EXPOSED  TO  INSULT  293 

slightly  heavy  but  well-shaped.  The  inside  of 
the  mouth  is  adorned  with  most  regular,  firm, 
and  beautiful  teeth.  Curiously  enough,  the 
typical  Jewish  nose — so  characteristic  in  men — 
is  seldom  markedly  noticeable  in  women.  I 
have  even  seen  Jewish  girls  with  turned-up 
noses.  Their  arms  are  beautifully  modelled, 
and  the  hands  as  a  whole  extremely  graceful, 
with  unusually  long  and  supple  fingers,  but 
with  badly-shaped  nails  of  an  unwholesome 
colour. 

Jewesses  in  Persia  are  not  kept  in  seclusion 
and  go  about  with  uncovered  faces,  which 
exposes  them  to  constant  and  unpleasant  insult 
from  the  Mahommedans.  They  dress  difi^erently 
from  Persian  women,  with  a  long  skirt  of  either 
black,  blue,  or  coloured  cotton.  The  head  is 
framed  in  a  white  kerchief,  leaving  exposed  the 
jet  black  hair  parted  in  the  middle  and  covering 
the  temples.  Over  that  is  worn  a  long  cloak, 
either  black  or  white,  almost  identical  with  the 
Persian  "  chudder." 

Jewesses  are  said  to  be  most  affectionate  and 
devoted  to  their  husbands  and  their  families. 
They  are  extremely  amenable  to  reason — except 
in  cases  of  jealousy,  which  is  one  of  the  leading 
characteristics  of  the  race  in  general  and  of  Jewish 
women  in  particular.  They  are  hard-working, 
intelligent,  thrifty.  They  take  life  seriously  : 
are  endowed  with  no  sense  of  humour  to  speak 
of — it  would  be  difincult  to  have  any  under  their 
circumstances — and  whether  owing  to  severe 
ansemia,    caused    by    wretched    and     insuihcient 


294  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

food,  or  to  some  external  influence,  are  often 
affected  by  melancholia. 

Soft  and  shy  in  manner  and  speech,  under 
normal  circumstances,  pale  and  silent,  the  Jewish 
woman  is  not  unattractive. 

One  of  the  few  occupations  open  to  Jewesses 
is  the  practice  of  midwifery. 

Hunted  as  the  Jews  are  by  everybody  in  the 
streets,  and  in  the  bazaar,  insulted,  spat  upon, 
the  women  often  compelled  to  prostitution,  it  is 
to  be  marvelled  that  any  honesty  at  all  is  left  in 
them. 

The  higher  Persian  schools  and  colleges  do  not 
admit  Jews  as  students,  nor  is  education  permitted 
to  them  even  in  the  lower  Persian  schools. 
Therefore,  the  welcome  work  of  Mr.  Garland  is 
much  needed  and  appreciated.  A  special  quarter 
is  reserved  in  which  the  Jews  must  live,  huddled 
together,  the  majority  of  them  in  abject  poverty. 
Until  of  late  no  peace  was  given  them.  Their 
customs  were  interfered  with  in  every  way  by 
vagabond  Persians,  and  the  little  money  they 
made  by  industrious  habits  was  extorted  from 
them  by  officials  or  by  the  enterprising  Persian 
to  whom  the  Jewish  community  was  farmed 
out. 

The  Jews  of  a  city  are  taxed  a  certain  sum, 
usually  beyond  what  they  can  afford  to  pay. 
Some  speculator  undertakes  to  pay  the  amount 
for  them  to  the-  local  Governor  and  receives 
authority  to  compensate  himself  from  the  Jewish 
community  as  best  he  can,  either  by  making 
them  work,  or  trade,  or  by  selling  their  clothes 


XXVIII  INVOLUNTARY  BATHS  295 

or  depriving  them  of  the  few  articles  of  furniture 
they  may  possess. 

Until  quite  lately,  at  public  festivities  the  meek 
and  resigned  Jews  were  driven  before  an  insult- 
ing mob  who  held  them  in  derision,  and  exposed 
them  to  most  abject  treatment  ;  some  of  their 
number  ending  by  being  pitched  into  the  water- 
tank  which  adorns  the  courtyard  or  garden  of 
most  residences.  Little  by  little,  however,  with 
the  spread  of  civilisation,  Jews  have  been  spared 
the  torture  of  these  baths. 

The  Jew  is  looked  upon  as  unclean  and  un- 
trustworthy by  the  Persian,  who  refuses  to  use 
him  as  a  soldier,  but  who  gladly  employs  him  to 
do  all  sorts  of  dirty  jobs  which  Persian  pride 
would  not  allow  him  to  do  himself  His  social 
level  therefore  stands  even  lower  than  that  of  the 
Shotri  of  India,  the  outcast  who  does  not  stop  at 
the  basest  occupations. 

The  majority  of  the  older  Jews  are  illiterate, 
but  not  unintelligent.  Each  city  has  one  or 
more  Rabbis  or  priests,  but  they  have  no  power 
and  receive  a  good  share  of  the  insults  in  the 
Persian  bazaars. 

Whatever  feeling  of  repulsion  towards  the 
race  one  may  have,  the  position  of  the  Jews  in 
Persia — although  infinitely  better  tliaii  it  was 
before — is  still   a  most  pathetic  one. 


CHAPTER  ^  XXIX 

The  square  of  Isfahan — The  Palace  gate — The  entrance  to 
the  bazaar — Beggars — Formalities  and  etiquette  —  The 
bazaar — Competition — How  Persians  buy — Long  credit — 
Arcades — Hats — Cloth  shops— Sweet  shops — B\itchers — 
Leather  goods — Saddle-bags — The  bell  shop — Trunks. 

The  great  square  of  Isfahan  is  looked  upon  as 
the  centre  of  the  city.  It  is  a  huge  oblong,  with 
the  great  and  beautiful  dome  of  the  Mesjid-i-Shah 
on  one  side  of  the  long  rectangle,  and  another 
high  domed  mosque  with  two  high  minarets  at 
the  end.  The  very  impressive  red  and  white 
quadrangular  palace  gate,  flat-topped,  and  with  a 
covered  blue  verandah  supported  on  numerous 
slender  columns,  stands  on  the  side  of  the  square 
opposite  the  Mesjid-i-Shah  mosque. 

To  the  north  of  the  great  square  one  enters 
the  bazaar  by  a  high  gate,  handsomely  tiled  with 
flower  ornamentations  ;  this  gateway  has  three 
lower  windows  and  a  triple  upper  one,  and  a 
doorway  under  the  cool  shade  of  the  outer  pro- 
jecting pointed  archway.  To  the  right  of  the 
entrance  as  one  looks  at  it,  rises  a  three-storied 
building  as  high  as  the  gate  of  the  bazaar.  It 
has  a  pretty  upper  verandah,  the  roof  of  which 
is  supported  on   transverse  sets  of  three  wooden 


CH.  XXIX  INSISTENT  BEGGARS  297 

columns  each,  except  the  outer  corner  roof- 
supports,  which  are  square  and  of  bricks.  In 
front  is  an  artistic  but  most  untidy  conglomer- 
ation of  awnings  to  protect  from  the  sun  ped- 
lars, merchants  and  people  enjoying  their  kalians, 
or  a  thimbleful  of  tea. 

There  are  men  selling  fruit  which  is  displayed 
upon  the  dirty  ground,  and  there  are  tired  horses 
with  dismounted  cavaliers  sleeping  by  their  side, 
the  reins  fastened  for  precaution  to  a  heavy  stone 
or  slung  to  the  arm.  One  sees  masses  of  children 
of  all  ages  and  conditions  of  health, from  the  neatly 
attired  son  of  the  wealthy  n:erchant,  who  disports 
himself  with  his  eldest  brother,  to  the  orphan 
boy,  starving,  and  in  rags  covered  with  mud. 
There  is  a  little  cripple  with  a  shrunken  leg,  and 
further,  an  old  man  with  lupus  in  its  most  ghastly 
form.  Disreputably-clothed  soldiers  lie  about  in 
the  crowd,  and  a  woman  or  two  with  their  faces 
duly  screened  in  white  cloths  may  be  seen. 

The  sight  of  a  sahib  always  excites  great 
curiosity  in  Persia.  Followed  by  a  crowd  of 
loafers  and  most  insistent  beggars,  one  forces 
one's  way  into  the  crowded  bazaar,  while  the 
ghulams  of  the  Consulate — without  whom  it 
would  be  indecorous  to  go  anywhere — shove  the 
people  on  one  side  or  the  other  without  ceremony, 
drive  the  donkeys,  laden  with  wood  or  panniers 
of  fruit,  into  the  shops — mucli  to  the  liorror  ot 
the  shopman, — and  disband  the  strings  of  mules 
and  the  horsemen  to  make  room  for  the  passing 
sahib. 

It   is   verv  (h'fhcult,  under  such  circumstances, 


I9B  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

to  stop  any  length  of  time  at  any  particular  spot 
to  study  the  shops,  the  shop-people,  and  the 
buyers,  for  instead  of  being  an  unobserved 
spectator,  one  is  at  all  times  the  principal  actor 
in  the  scene  and  the  centre  of  attention,  and 
therefore  a  most  disturbing  element  in  the 
crowd. 

There  are  so  many  complicated  and  tiresome 
formalities  to  be  adhered  to  in  order  to  avoid 
offending  the  natives,  or  the  officials,  or  the 
susceptibilities  of  foreign  residents,  w^ho  seem  to 
feel  responsible  for  the  doings  of  every  traveller 
— and  w^ho,  at  all  events,  remain  to  suffer  for 
the  untactful  deeds  of  some  of  them, — and  there 
are  so  many  things  one  must  not  do  for  fear  of 
destroying  the  prestige  of  one's  country,  that, 
really,  if  one  possesses  a  simple  and  practical 
mind,  one  gets  rather  tired  of  Persian  tov^n  life, 
with  its  exaggerated  ties,  its  empty  outward  show 
and  pomp  and  absolute  lack  of  more  modest  aims 
which,  after  all,  make  real  happiness  in  life. 

As  for  European  ladies  it  is  considered  most 
improper  to  be  seen  with  uncovered  faces  in  the 
bazaar.  In  fact,  walking  anywhere  in  the  town 
they  are  generally  exposed  to  insult. 

I  once  took  a  walk  through  the  various  bazaars, 
but  the  second  time,  at  our  Consul's  recommend- 
ation, was  advised  to  ride  in  state,  with  gold- 
braided,  mounted  Consulate  ghulams  preceding 
and  following  me,  while  I  myself  rode  a  magni- 
ficent stallion  presented  by  Zil-es-Sultan  to  our 
Consul.  The  horse  had  not  been  ridden  for 
some  time  and  was  slightly  fresh.      The  place  to 


-.A  1 


XXIX  SALUTARY  COMPETITION  299 

which  we  directed  our  animals  was  the  brass 
bazaar,  the  most  crowded  and  diabolically  noisy 
place  in  the  Shah's  dominions. 

The  sudden  change  from  the  brilliant  light  of 
the  sun  to  the  pitch  darkness  of  the  vaulted 
bazaar,  affected  one's  sight,  and  it  was  some 
few  seconds  before  one  could  distinguish  any- 
thing, although  one  could  hear  the  buzzing 
noise  of  an  excited  crowd,  and  the  cries  of  the 
ghulams  ordering  the  people  to  make  room  for 
the  cavalcade. 

In  nearly  all  bazaars  of  the  principal  cities  of 
Persia  a  very  good  custom  prevails.  One  or 
more  streets  are  devoted  entirely  to  the  same 
article,  so  that  the  buyer  may  conveniently  make 
comparisons,  and  the  various  merchants  are  also 
kept  up  to  the  mark  by  the  salutary  competition 
close  at  hand  thus  rendered  unavoidable.  A 
Persian  does  not  go  to  a  shop  to  buy  anything 
without  going  to  every  other  shop  in  the  bazaar 
to  ask  whether  he  can  get  a  similar  article  better 
and  cheaper.  Such  a  convenience  as  fixed 
prices,  alike  for  all,  does  not  exist  in  the  Persian 
bazaar,  and  prices  are  generally  on  the  ascending 
or  descending  scale,  according  to  the  merchant's 
estimate  of  his  customer's  wealth.  It  is  looked 
upon  as  a  right  and  a  duty  to  extort  from  a  rich 
man  the  maximum  of  profit,  whereas  from  a  poor 
fellow  a  few  shais  benefit  are  deemed  sufficient. 

To  buy  anything  at  all  in  the  bazaar  involves 
great  loss  of  time — and  patience, — excessive 
consumption  of  tea  plus  the  essential  kalian- 
smoking.      Two  or  three  or  more  visits  are   paid 


300  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

to  the  stall  by  Persian  buyers  before  they  can 
come  to  an  agreement  with  the  merchant,  and 
when  the  goods  are  delivered  it  is  the  merchant's 
turn  to  pay  endless  visits  to  his  customer's 
house  before  he  can  obtain  payment  for  them. 
Long  credit  is  generally  given  by  merchants  to 
people  known  to  them.  There  is  comparatively 
little  ready  money  business  done  except  in  the 
cheapest  goods. 

We  shoved  our  way  along  through  the  very 
narrow  streets  with  a  long  row  before  us  of  sun 
columns,  piercing  through  the  circular  openings 
in  the  domed  arcade  of  the  bazaar,  and  projecting 
brilliant  patches  of  light  now  on  brightly- 
coloured  turbans,  now  on  the  black  chudder  of 
a  woman,  now  on  the  muddy  ground  constantly 
sprinkled  with  water  to  keep  the  streets  cool. 

There  are  miles  of  bazaar,  in  Teheran  and 
Isfahan,  roofed  over  in  long  arcades  to  protect 
the  shops  and  buyers  from  the  sun  in  summer, 
from  the  rain  and  snow  in  winter.  The  height 
of  the  arcade  is  from  thirty  to  sixty  feet,  the 
more  ancient  ones  being  lower  than  the  modern 
ones. 

To  any  one  well  acquainted  with  other  Eastern 
countries  there  is  absolutely  nothing  in  a  Persian 
bazaar  that  is  worth  buying.  The  old  and 
beautiful  objects  of  art  have  left  the  country  long 
ago,  and  the  modern  ones  have  neither  sufficient 
artistic  merit  nor  intrinsic  value  to  be  worth  the 
trouble  and  expense  of  sending  them  home.  For 
curiosity's  sake — yes,  there  are  a  few  tawdry 
articles  which  may  amuse  friends  in  Europe,  but 


XXIX  THE  SHOPS  301 

what  I  mean  is  that  there  is  nothing  that  is  really 
of  intense  interest  or  skilful  workmanship,  such 
as  one  can  find  in  Japan,  in  China,  in  Morocco 
or  Egypt. 

We  ride  through  the  street  of  hatters,  each 
shop  with  walls  lined  with  piles  of  kolah  hats, 
black  and  brimless,  shaped  either  in  the  section 
of  a  cone  or  rounded  with  a  depression  on  the 
top.  They  are  made  of  astrakan  or  of  black  felt, 
and  are  worn  by  the  better  people  ;  but  further 
on  we  come  to  cheaper  shops,  where  spherical 
skull  caps  of  white  or  light  brown  felt  are  being 
manufactured  for  the  lower  classes. 

As  we  ride  along,  a  stinging  smell  of  dyes  tells 
us  that  we  are  in  the  cloth  street,  indigo  colours 
prevailing,  and  also  white  and  black  cottons 
and  silks.  One  cannot  help  pitying  the  sweating 
shopman,  who  is  busy  unrolling  cloths  of  various 
makes  before  a  number  of  squatting  women,  who 
finger  each  and  confabulate  among  themselves, 
and  request  to  have  the  roll  deposited  by  their 
side  for  further  consideration  with  a  mountain  of 
other  previously  unrolled  fabrics, — just  like 
women  at  home.  The  rolls  are  taken  from  neat 
wooden  shelves,  on  which,  however,  they  seldom 
rest.  Soiled  remnants  of  European  stocks  play 
a  very  important  part  in  this  section  of  the 
bazaar. 

On  turning  round  a  corner  we  have  shoes  and 
boots,  foreign  made,  of  the  favourite  side-elastic 
pattern,  or  the  native  white  canvas  ones  with 
rope  soles — most  comfortable  and  serviceable  for 
walking.      The    local    leather   ones    have   strong 


302  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

soles  with  nails  and  tiirned-up  toes,  not  unlike 
the  familiar  Turkish  shoe  ;  while  the  slippers 
for  women  have  no  back  to  them  at  the  heel 
and  have  fancy  toes. 

Then  come  the  attractive  sweet-shops,  with 
huge  trays  of  transparent  candy,  and  the  Pash 
mak  pulled  sugar,  as  white  and  light  as  raw  silk, 
most  delicious  but  sticky.  In  bottles  above,  the 
eye  roams  from  highly  coloured  confetti  to 
Abnabad  and  Kors  or  other  deadly-looking 
lozenges,  while  a  crowd  of  enraptured  children 
deposit  shais  in  the  hands  of  the  prosperous 
trader,  who  promptly  weighs  and  gives  in  ex- 
change a  full  measure  of  rahat-iil-holkoom^  "  the 
ease  of  the  throat,"  or  candied  sugar,  duly 
packed  in  paper  bags. 

There  is  nothing  very  attractive  in  the 
butchers'  bazaar  ;  the  long  rows  of  skinned 
animals  black  with  flies,  and  in  various  degrees 
of  freshness,  made  even  less  artistic  by  ornamen- 
tations of  paper  rosettes  and  bits  of  gold  and 
silver  paper.  Beef,  camel,  mutton,  game  and 
chickens,  all  dead  and  with  throats  cut — the 
Mahommedan  fashion  of  killing — can  be  pur- 
chased here,  but  the  smell  of  meat  is  so  strong 
and  sickening  that  we  will  promptly  adjourn  to 
the  leather-work  bazaar. 

For  a  man,  this  is  probably  the  most  typical 
and  interesting  section  of  the  Persian  retail 
commerce.  There  is  something  picturesque 
and  artistic  in  the  clumsy  silver  or  brass  or  iron 
mounted  saddles,  with  handsome  red,  or  green, 
or  brown   ample  leather  flaps,   gracefully  orna- 


XXIX  THE  HORJIN  303 

mented  with  more  or  less  elaboration  to  suit  the 
pockets  of  different  customers.  Then  the  har- 
ness is  pretty,  with  its  silver  inlaid  iron  decora- 
tion, or  solid  silver  or  brass,  and  the  character- 
istic stirrups,  nicely  chiselled  and  not  unlike  the 
Mexican  ones.  The  greater  part  of  the  foot 
can  rest  on  the  stirrup,  so  broad  is  its  base. 
Then  come  the  saddlebags  of  all  sizes,  the 
horjin^  in  cloth,  in  sacking,  in  expensive  leather, 
in  carpeting,  of  all  prices,  with  an  ingenious 
device  of  a  succession  of  loops  fastening  the 
one  into  the  other,  the  last  with  a  padlock,  to 
secure  the  contents  of  the  bag  from  intrusive 
hands. 

These  horjins — or  double  bags — are  extremely 
convenient  and  are  the  most  usual  contrivance 
in  Persia  for  conveying  luggage  on  horseback  or 
mules. 

Then  in  the  lower  part  of  the  shop  there  is  a 
grand  display  of  leather  purses,  sheaths  for 
knives,  and  a  collection  of  leather  stock  whips, 
gracefully  tied  into  multiple  knots. 

In  this  same  bazaar,  where  everything  in 
connection  with  riding  or  loading  animals  can 
be  purchased,  are  also  to  be  found  the  bell  shops. 
These  confine  themselves  particularly  to  horses', 
mules'  and  camels'  neck  decorations.  Long 
tassels,  either  red  or  black,  in  silk  or  dyed  horse- 
hair, silk  or  leather  bands  with  innumerable 
small  conical  shrill  bells,  and  sets  of  larger  bells 
in  successive  gradations  of  sizes,  one  hanging 
inside  the  other,  are  found  here.  Then  there 
are  some  huge   cylindrical    bells   standing    about 


304  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xxix 

two  and  a  half  feet  high,  with  scrolls  and  geo- 
metrical designs  on  their  sides.  These  are  for 
camels  and  are  not  intended  to  hang  from  the 
neck.  They  are  slung  on  one  side  under  the 
lighter  of  the  two  loads  of  the  pack. 

Next,  one  is  attracted  by  a  shop  full  of  leather 
trunks,  of  the  reddest  but  not  the  best  morocco, 
stretched  while  wet  upon  a  rough  wooden 
frame.  Primitive  ornamentations  are  painted 
on  the  leather,  and  the  corners  of  each  box:  are 
strengthened  with  tin  caps  and  rings.  The 
trunks  for  pack  animals  are  better  made  than  the 
others,  and  are  solidly  sewn,  with  heavy  straps 
and  rings  to  sling  them  upon  the  saddles. 
Gaudy  revolver  pouches,  cartridge  belts,  and 
slings  for  daggers  are  to  be  purchased  in  the 
same  shop. 


'M.'S 


CHAPTER  XXX 

The  Brass  Bazaar — Mirror  shop — Curdled  milk — A  tea  shop — 
Fruit  and  vegetable  bazaar  —  The  walnut  seller  —  The 
Auctioneer —Pipe  shops — Barber — Headdress — Bread  shops 
— Caravanserais — The  day  of  rest. 

Winding  our  way  through  the  labyrinth  of 
narrow  streets,  and  meeting  a  crescendo  of 
diabohcal  din  as  we  approach  it,  we  emerge  into 
a  more  spacious  and  hghter  arcade,  where 
hundreds  of  men  are  hammering  with  all  their 
might  upon  pieces  of  copper  that  are  being 
shaped  into  trays,  pots  with  double  spouts,  or 
pans.  This  is  the  coppersmiths'  bazaar.  On  a 
long  low  brick  platform,  extending  from  one  end 
to  the  other  on  both  sides  of  the  street,  is  taste- 
fully arranged  the  work  already  finished.  Huge 
circular  trays  have  coarse  but  elaborate  orna- 
mentations of  figures,  trees  and  birds  chiselled 
upon  them — not  unlike  the  Indian  Benares  trays 
in  general  appearance,  but  not  in  the  character  of 
the  design.  Copper  vases  with  spouts  are  grace- 
fully shaped,  the  ancient  Persian  models  being 
maintained.  They  are  much  used  by  Persians  in 
daily  life.  More  elaborate  is  the  long-necked 
vessel  with  a  circular  body  and  slender  curved 
VOL.  I  ^ 


3o6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

spout,  that  rests  upon  a  very  quaint  and  elegantly 
designed  wash-basin  with  perforated  cover  and 
exaggerated  rim.  This  is  used  after  meals  in  the 
household  of  the  rich,  when  an  attendant  pours 
tepid  water  scented  with  rose-water  upon  the 
fingers,  which  have  been  used  in  eating  instead 
of  a  fork.  These  vessels  and  basins  are  usually 
of  brass.  All  along  the  ground,  against  the  wall, 
stand  sets  of  concentric  trays  of  brass,  copper  and 
pewter,  and  metal  tumblers  innumerable,  having 
execrable  designs  upon  them,  and  rendered  more 
hideous  by  being  nickel-plated  all  over.  Each 
shop,  about  ten  to  twenty  feet  long  and  eight  to 
fifteen  wide,  has  a  furnace  in  one  corner. 

Considering  the  few  and  primitive  tools 
employed,  it  is  really  wonderful  that  the  work  is 
as  good  as  it  is.  The  polishing  of  trays  is 
generally  done  with  their  feet  by  boys,  who 
stand  on  them  and  with  a  circular  motion  of  the 
body  revolve  the  tray  to  the  right  and  left  upon 
a  layer  of  wet  sand  until,  after  some  hours  of 
labour,  a  sufficiently  shiny  surface  is  obtained  by 
friction. 

I  became  much  interested  in  watching  a  man 
joining  together  two  pieces  of  metal  to  be  turned 
into  an  amphora,  but  the  noise  made  the  horse  I 
rode  very  restless.  It  was  impossible  to  hear 
any  one  speak,  the  din  of  the  hammered  metal 
being  so  acute  and  being  echoed  in  each  dome  of 
the  arcade.  The  horse  became  so  alarmed  when 
the  bellows  began  to  blow  upon  the  fire  that  he 
tried  to  throw  me,  first  by  standing  on  his  fore- 
legs and  scattering  the  crowd  of  yelling  natives 


XXX     THE  CURDLED-MILK  RETAILER      307 

with  his  hindlegs,  then  by  standing  up  erect  the 
other  way  about.  In  a  moment  the  place  was 
clear  of  people  ;  some  had  leapt  on  to  the  side 
platform  :  others  had  rushed  inside  the  shops. 
The  horse  delighted  in  pirouetting  about,  kick- 
ing the  nearest  metal  vases  and  trays  all  over  the 
place,  and  causing  quite  a  commotion.  It  was 
rather  amusing  to  watch  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  merchants  a  little  way  off  withdrew  their 
goods  to  safety  inside  the  premises  to  prevent 
further  damage.  The  horse,  being  then  satisfied 
that  he  could  not  shake  me  off,  continued  the 
journey  more  or  less  peacefully  through  the 
bazaar. 

Here  is  a  mirror  shop — imports  from  Austria. 
There  the  flourishing  grain  merchants,  whose 
premises  are  the  neatest  and  cleanest  of  the  whole 
bazaar.  Each  merchant  tastily  displays  his  various 
cereals  in  heaps  on  speckless  enormous  brass  trays, 
and  by  the  side  of  them  dried  fruit,  in  which  he 
also  deals  extensively.  His  shop  is  decorated 
with  silvered  or  red  or  blue  glass  balls. 

Further  on  is  another  very  neat  place,  the 
curdled-milk  retailer's,  with  large  flat  metal  tanks 
filled  with  milk,  and  a  great  many  trays,  large 
and  little,  in  front  of  his  premises.  He,  too, 
keeps  his  place  and  belongings — but  not  himself 
— most  beautifully  clean.  He  does  a  flourishing 
business. 

Every  now  and  then  we  come  upon  a  very 
spacious  and  well-lighted  room,  with  gaudy 
candelabras  of  Bohemian  glass,  and  a  large 
steaming   samovar.     This   is  a  tea-shop.      There 

X    2 


3o8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

are  plenty  of  men  in  it,  in  green  or  brown  or 
blue  long  coats,  and  all  squatting  lazily,  cross- 
legged,  sipping  tea  from  tiny  glasses  and  being 
helped  to  sugar  from  a  large  tray  containing  a 
mountain  of  it. 

The  fruit  and  vegetable  bazaar  is  always  a 
feature  of  Persian  city  markets,  water-melons, 
cucumbers,  grapes,  apples,  pomegranates,  al- 
monds and  walnuts  playing  a  prominent  part 
in  the  various  displays.  Then  there  is  the 
retailer  of  peeled  walnuts,  a  man  who  wears  a 
red  cap  and  green  coat,  and  who  sells  his  goods 
spread  on  a  brass  tray.  The  walnuts  as  soon  as 
peeled  from  their  skin  are  thrown  into  a  large 
basin  full  of  water,  and  when  properly  washed 
are  spread  on  the  tray  to  dry,  ready  for  con- 
sumption. 

The  walnut  man  is  generally  a  character. 
He  keeps  his  stall  open  even  at  night,  when 
other  shops  are  closed,  and  has  plenty  to  say  to 
all  the  passers-by  on  the  merits  of  his  walnuts. 

To  enumerate  all  one  sees  in  the  bazaar  would 
take  a  volume  to  itself,  but  on  glancing  through 
we  see  the  excited  auctioneer  in  his  white  tur- 
ban calling  out  figures  on  an  ascending  scale, 
and  tapping  on  a  piece  of  wood  when  a  sufficient 
sum  is  offered  and  no  more  bids  are  forthcoming. 
He  has  assistants  showing  round  the  various 
articles  as  they  are  being  sold, — umbrellas, 
tooth-brushes,  mirrors,  knives,  etc. 

The  pipe  shops  are  small — with  black  and 
red  and  blue  earthenware  cups  for  the  kalian. 
There  is  not  much   variety  in   the  shape   of  the 


XXX  THE  PERSIAN  FIGARO  309 

pipes  except  that  some  are  made  to  be  used  in 
the  joined  hands  as  a  draw-pipe  tor  the  smoke, 
the  cup  being  held  between  the  thumbs. 
Others,  the  majority  of  them,  are  intended  for 
the  top  part  of  the  kalian. 

The  barber's  shop  is  a  quaint  one,  remarkably 
clean  with  whitewashed  walls  and  a  brick  floor. 
Up  to  some  five  feet  along  the  walls  is  nailed  a 
cloth,  usually  red,  against  which  the  customers 
rest  their  heads  while  being  shaved.  Hung 
upon  the  walls  are  scissors  of  all  sizes,  razors, 
and  various  other  implements  such  as  forceps  for 
drawing  teeth,  sharp  lancets  for  bleeding,  the 
knives  used  for  the  operation  of  circumcision,  and 
a  variety  of  wooden  combs  and  branding  irons. 

Yes,  the  Persian  barber  has  multifarious  occu- 
pations. He  is  surgeon,  dentist  and  masseur, 
besides  being  an  adept  with  comb  and  razor. 
He  is — like  his  brother  of  the  West — an 
incessant  talker,  and  knows  all  the  scandal  of 
the  town.  While  at  work  he  has  a  bowl  of 
clean  water  by  his  side  which  he  uses  on  the 
patient's  face  or  top  of  the  skull  and  neck, 
which  are  in  male  Persians  all  clean-shaved. 
No  soap  is  used  by  typical  Persian  barbers. 
Their  short  razors,  in  wooden  cases,  are  stropped 
on  the  barber's  arm,  or  occasionally  leg,  and  are 
quite  sharp. 

The  younger  folks  of  Persia  shave  the  top  of 
the  skull  leaving  long  locks  of  hair  at  the  side 
of  the  head,  which  are  gracefully  pushed  over 
the  ear  and  left  hanging  long  behind,  where 
they  arc  cut  in  a  straight  horizontal  line  round 


3IO  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

the  neck.  This  fashion  is  necessitated  by  the 
custom  in  Persia  of  never  removing  the  heavy 
headgear.  The  elder  people,  in  fact,  shave  every 
inch  of  the  scalp,  but  balance  this  destruction  of 
hair  by  growing  a  long  beard,  frequently  dyed 
bright  red  or  jet  black  w^ith  henna  and  indigo. 

The  bread-shops  of  Persia  are  quaint,  a  piece 
of  bread  being  sometimes  as  big  as  a  small 
blanket  and  about  as  thick.  These  huge  flat 
loaves  are  hung  up  on  slanting  shelves.  In 
Central  and  Southern  Persia,  however,  the 
smaller  kind  of  bread  is  more  commonly  used, 
not  unlike  an  Indian  chapati.  A  ball  of  flour 
paste  is  well  fingered  and  pawed  until  it  gets  to 
a  semi-solid  consistency.  It  is  then  flung  several 
times  from  one  palm  of  the  hand  into  the  other, 
after  which  it  is  spread  flat  with  a  roller  upon  a 
level  stone  slab.  A  few  indentations  are  made 
upon  its  face  with  the  end  of  the  baker's  fingers  ; 
it  is  taken  up  and  thrown  with  a  rapid  move- 
ment upon  the  inner  domed  portion  of  a  small 
oven,  some  three  to  four  feet  high,  within  which 
blazes  a  big  charcoal  fire.  Several  loaves  are 
thus  baked  against  the  hot  walls  and  roof  of  the 
oven,  which  has  an  aperture  at  the  top,  and 
when  properly  roasted  and  beginning  to  curl  and 
fall  they  are  seized  with  wonderful  quickness 
and  brought  out  of  the  oven.  Gloves  on  the 
hands  and  a  cover  over  the  baker's  face  are 
necessary  to  prevent  burns  and  asphyxia  from  the 
escaping  gases  of  the  charcoal  from  the  aperture 
over  which  the  man  must  lean  every  time. 

In   the  bazaars  of  large  cities  one  finds  every 


XXX         FRIDAY,  THE  DAY  OF  REST  311 

now  and  then  large  caravanserais,  handsome 
courts  with  a  tank  of  water  in  the  centre  and 
shops  all  round.  It  is  here  that  wholesale 
dealers  and  traders  have  their  premises,  and  that 
caravans  are  accommodated  on  their  arrival  with 
goods.  There  are  generally  trees  planted  all 
round  these  courts  to  shade  the  animals  and 
buyers,  and  often  a  high  and  broad  platform  or 
verandah  all  round,  where  the  goods  are  spread 
for  inspection.  Some  of  the  richer  caravanserais 
are  quite  handsome,  with  neat  latticed  windows 
and  doors.  The  walls  are  painted  white.  The 
court  is  crammed  with  tired  camels,  mules, 
beggars  and  loafers. 

The  camel  men  squat  in  one  corner  to  smoke 
their  pipes  and  eat  their  bread,  while  the 
merchants  form  another  ring  up  above  on  the 
verandah,  where  prices  are  discussed  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  a  crowd  of  ever-to-be-found 
loafers  taking  active  part  in  the  discussion. 

On  a  Friday,  the  day  of  rest  of  the 
Mahommedan,  the  bazaar,  so  crowded  on  other 
days,  is  absolutely  deserted.  All  the  shops — if  a 
hatter  or  two  be  excepted — are  barricaded  with 
heavy  wooden  shutters  and  massive  padlocks  of 
local  or  Russian  make.  Barring  a  dog  or  two 
either  lying  asleep  along  the  wall,  or  scraping  a 
heap  of  refuse  in  the  hope  of  satisfying  hunger 
— there  is  hardly  a  soul  walking  about.  Attracted 
by  a  crowd  in  the  distance,  one  finds  a  fanatic 
gesticulating  like  mad  and  shouting  at  the  top  of 
his  voice  before  an  admiring  crowd  of  ragamuffins 
squatting  r(nmd  him  in  a  circle. 


312  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xxx 

On  these  holidays,  when  the  streets  are  clear, 
the  effect  of  the  columns  of  sunlight  pouring  down 
from  the  small  circular  apertures  from  each  dome 
of  the  arcade,  and  some  twenty  feet  apart,  is  very 
quaint.  It  is  like  a  long  colonnade  of  brilliant 
light  in  the  centre  of  the  otherwise  dark,  muddy- 
looking,  long,  dirty  tunnel.  At  noon,  when  the 
sun  is  on  the  meridian,  these  sun  columns  are, 
of  course,  almost  perfectly  vertical,  but  not  so 
earlier  in  the  morning  or  later  in  the  afternoon. 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

A  carpet  factory — Children  at  work — The  process  of  carpet- 
making — Foreign  influence  in  the  design — Aniline  dyes — 
"  Ancient  carpets  "  manufactured  to-day — Types  of  carpets 
— Kerman  carpets — Isfahan  silk  carpets — Kurdistan  rugs — 
Birjand  and  Sultanabad  carpets — Carpets  made  by  wander- 
ing tribes — Jewellers — Sword-makers  and  gunsmiths  — 
Humming  birds. 

A  VISIT  to  a  carpet  factory  proves  interesting. 
The  horses  must  be  left,  for  it  is  necessary  to 
squeeze  through  a  low  and  narrow  door  in  order 
to  enter  the  shed  where  the  carpets  are  made. 

Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  intricate  and 
gorgeous  designs  of  Persian  carpets,  and  one 
imagines  that  only  veteran  skilful  artisans  can 
tackle  such  artistic  work.  One  cannot,  there- 
fore, help  almost  collapsing  with  surprise  on 
seeing  mere  children  from  the  age  of  six  to  ten 
working  away  at  the  looms  with  a  quickness  and 
ease  that  makes  one  feel  very  small. 

In  badly  lighted  and  worse  ventilated  rooms, 
they  sit  perched  in  long  rows  on  benches  at 
various  altitudes  from  the  floor,  according  to  the 
progression  and  size  of  the  carpet,  the  web  of 
which  is  spread  tight  vertically  in  front  of  them. 
Occasionally  when  the  most  difficult  patterns  are 


314  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

executed,  or  for  patterns  with  European  in- 
novations in  the  design,  a  coloured  drawing  is 
hung  up  above  the  workers  ;  but  usually  there  is 
nothing  for  them  to  go  by,  except  that  a  super- 
intendent— an  older  boy — sings  out  the  stitches 
in  a  monotonous  cadence.  A  row  of  coloured 
balls  of  the  various  coloured  threads  employed 
in  the  design  hang  from  the  loom  just  within 
reach  of  the  boys'  hands. 

The  process  of  carpet-making  is  extremely 
simple,  consisting  merely  of  a  series  of  twisted 
— not  absolutely  knotted — coloured  worsted 
threads,  each  passing  round  one  of  the  main 
threads  of  the  foundation  web.  The  catching-up 
of  each  consecutive  vertical  thread  in  the  web, 
inserting  the  coloured  worsted,  giving  it  the 
twist  that  makes  it  remain  in  its  position,  and 
cutting  it  to  the  proper  length,  is  done  so  quickly 
by  the  tiny,  supple  fingers  of  the  children  that 
it  is  impossible  to  see  how  it  is  done  at  all  until 
one  requests  them  to  do  it  slowly  for  one's 
benefit.  After  each  horizontal  row  of  twisted 
threads,  a  long  horizontal  thread  is  interwoven, 
and  then  the  lot  is  beaten  down  with  a  heavy 
iron  comb  with  a  handle  to  it,  not  unlike  a  huge 
hair-brush  cleaner.  There  are  different  modes 
of  twisting  the  threads,  and  this  constitutes  the 
chief  characteristic  of  carpets  made  in  one 
province  or  another. 

The  labour  involved  in  their  manufacture  is 
enormous,  and  some  carpets  take  several  years  to 
manufacture.  The  children  employed  are  made 
to   work  very   hard   at   the    looms — seldom   less 


fef 


Bovs  Wkavim:  a  Carpet. 


(;<>l  l'>\     I  'l.l-.A.M-,K>. 


XXXI  CARPET  MAKING  315 

than  twelve  or  fourteen  hours  a  day — and  the 
exertion  upon  their  memory  to  remember  the 
design,  which  has  taken  them  several  months  to 
learn  by  heart,  is  great.  The  constant  strain  on 
the  eyes,  which  have  to  be  kept  fixed  on  each 
successive  vertical  thread  so  as  not  to  pick  up 
the  wrong  one,  is  very  injurious  to  their  sight. 
Many  of  the  children  of  the  factories  I  visited 
were  sore-eyed,  and  there  was  hardly  a  poor 
mite  who  did  not  rub  his  eyes  with  the  back  of 
his  hand  when  I  asked  him  to  suspend  work  for 
a  moment.  The  tension  upon  their  pupils  must 
be  enormous  in  the  dim  light. 

Although  made  in  a  primitive  method,  the 
carpet  weaving  of  Persia  is  about  the  only 
manufacture  that  deserves  a  first-class  place  in 
the  industries  of  Iran.  The  carpets  still  have  a 
certain  artistic  merit,  although  already  con- 
taminated to  no  mean  extent  by  European 
commerciality.  Instead  of  the  beautiful  and 
everlasting  vegetable  dyes  which  were  formerly 
used  for  the  worsted  and  silks,  and  the  magnifi- 
cent blue,  reds,  greens,  greys  and  browns,  ghastly 
aniline  dyed  threads — raw  and  hurtful  to  the 
eye — are  very  commonly  used  now.  Also,  of 
the  carpets  for  export  to  Europe  and  America 
the  same  care  is  not  taken  in  the  manufacture 
as  in  the  ancient  carpets,  and  the  bastard  design 
is  often  shockingly  vulgarised  to  appease  the 
inartistic  buyer. 

But  even  with  all  these  faults,  Persian  carpets, 
if  not  to  the  eye  of  an  expert,  for  all  general 
purposes   are  on  the  whole  better  than  those  of 


3i6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

any  other  manufacture.  They  have  still  the 
great  advantage  of  being  made  entirely  by  hand 
instead  of  by  machinery.  It  is  not  unwise,  before 
buying  a  Persian  carpet,  to  rub  it  well  with  a 
white  cloth.  If  it  is  aniline-dyed,  some  of  the 
colour  will  come  off,  but  if  the  old  Persian  dyes 
have  been  used  no  mark  should  remain  on  the 
cloth.  However,  even  without  resorting  to  this, 
it  must  be  a  very  poor  eye  indeed  that  cannot  re- 
cognise at  once  the  terrible  raw  colours  of  aniline 
from  the  soft,  delicious  tones  of  vegetable  dyes, 
which  time  can  only  soften  but  never  discolour. 

To  manufacture  "  ancient  carpets  "  is  one  of 
the  most  lucrative  branches  of  modern  Persian 
carpet-making.  The  new  carpets  are  spread  in 
the  bazaar,  in  the  middle  of  the  street  where  it 
is  most  crowded,  and  trampled  upon  for  days  or 
weeks,  according  to  the  age  required,  foot- 
passengers  and  their  donkeys,  mules  and  camels 
making  a  point  of  treading  on  it  in  order  to  "  add 
age  "  to  the  manufacturer's  goods.  When 
sufficiently  worn  down  the  carpet  is  removed, 
brushed,  and  eventually  sold  for  double  or  treble 
its  actual  price  owing  to  its  antiquity! 

There  are  some  thirty  diffisrent  types  of  carpets 
in  Persia.  The  Kerman  carpets  are,  to  my  mind, 
the  most  beautiful  I  saw  in  Persia,  in  design, 
colour  and  softness.  They  seem  more  original 
and  graceful,  with  conventional  plant,  flower  and 
bird  representations  of  delicate  and  very  varied 
tints,  and  not  so  much  geometrical  design  about 
them  as  is  the  case  in  the  majority  of  Persian 
carpets. 


XXXI  KERMAN  CARPETS  317 

Less  successful,  in  fact  quite  ugly,  but  quaint, 
are  those  in  which  very  large  and  ill-pro- 
portioned figures  are  represented.  One  feels 
Arab  influence  very  strongly  in  a  great  many  of 
the  Kerman  designs.  They  say  that  Kerman 
sheep  have  extremely  soft  and  silky  hair,  and  also 
that  the  Kerman  water  possesses  some  chemical 
qualities  which  are  unsurpassable  for  obtaining 
most  perfect  tones  of  colour  with  the  various 
dyes. 

The  principal  carpet  factory  is  in  the  Governor's 
Palace,  where  old  designs  are  faithfully  copied, 
and  really  excellent  results  obtained.  The 
present  Governor,  H.  E.  Ala-el-Mulk,  and  his 
nephew  take  particular  interest  in  the  manu- 
facture, and  devote  much  attention  to  the 
carpets,  which  retain  the  ancient  native  character- 
istics, and  are  hardly  contaminated  by  foreign 
influence. 

The  Isfahan  silk  carpets  are  also  very  beautiful, 
but  not  quite  so  reposeful  in  colour  nor  graceful 
in  design.  Those  of  Kurdistan  are  principally 
small  prayer  rugs,  rather  vivid  in  colour,  and 
much  used  by  Mahommedans  in  their  morning 
and  evening  salaams  towards  Mecca.  In 
Khorassan,  Meshed,  Sultanabad,  Kaian  (Kain) 
and  Birjand,  some  very  thick  carpets  are  made, 
of  excellent  wear,  but  not  so  very  artistic.  In 
the  Birjand  ones,  brown  camel-hair  is  a  prevailing 
colour,  used  too  freely  as  a  background,  and 
often  taking  away  frcjm  the  otherwise  graceful 
design.  Sultanabad  is  probal)ly  the  greatest 
centre      of    carpet-making     for     export — nearly 


31 8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

every  household  possessing  a  loom.  The  firm 
of  Ziegler  &  Co.  is  the  most  extensive  buyer  and 
exporter  of  these  carpets.  The  Herat  (Afghan- 
istan) carpets  are  also  renowned  and  find  their 
way  mostly  to  Europe. 

In  Shiraz  and  Faristan  we  find  the  long 
narrow  rugs,  as  soft  as  velvet,  and  usually  with 
geometrical  designs  on  them.  Red,  blue  and 
white  are  the  prevalent  colours. 

It  would  be  too  long  to  enumerate  all  the  places 
where  good  carpets  are  made  ;  but  Kerman- 
shah,  Tabriz,  Yezd, — in  fact,  nearly  all  big 
centres,  make  carpets,  each  having  special 
characteristics  of  their  own,  although  in  general 
appearance  bearing  to  the  unitiated  more  or  less 
similar  semblance. 

The  rugs  made  by  the  wandering  tribes  of 
South-east  and  South-west  Persia  are  quaint 
and  interesting.  The  Persian  Beluch  rugs  are 
somewhat  minute  and  irregular  in  design,  deep 
in  colour,  with  occasional  discords  of  tones,  but 
they  recommend  themselves  by  being  so  strongly 
made  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  wear  them 
out.  They  are  generally  small,  being  woven 
inside  their  tents  by  the  women. 

In  Northern  Persia  Turcoman  carpets — the 
most  adaptable  of  all  for  European  houses — are 
seldom  to  be  found  now,  as  they  are  generally 
bought  up  for  Russia.  Dark  red,  warm  and 
extremely  soft  is  the  striking  note  in  these 
carpets,  and  the  design  is  quite  sedate. 

Carpets,  except  the  cheaper  ones,  are  seldom 
sold     in     the     bazaars     nowadays.         They    are 


XXXI  NEXT  IN  ATTRACTION  319 

purchased  on  the  looms.  The  best  ones  are 
only  made  to  order.  There  are,  of  course,  a 
few  rug  shops,  and  occasionally  an  old  carpet  finds 
its  way  to  a  second-hand  shop  in  the  bazaar. 

Next    in     attraction     to     carpets     come    the 
jewellers'    shops.     The    goldsmiths'    and    silver- 
smiths'   shops    are    not    very    numerous    in    the 
bazaars,  nor,  when  we  come  to  examine  the  work 
carefully,  do  they   have    anything   really   worth 
buying.     The  work  is  on  good  gold  or  silver  of 
pure  quality,  but,  with  few  exceptions,  is  gen- 
erally clumsy  in    design    and    heavily  executed. 
Figures     are    attempted,    with    most    inartistic 
results,  on  silver  cases  and  boxes.     The  frontage 
of    a    goldsmith's    shop    has    no    great    variety 
of  articles.     Bracelets,  rings,  necklaces,  tea  and 
coffee  pots,  stands  for  coffee  cups,  and  enamelled 
pipe  heads  ;   a  silver  kalian   or  two,  an  old  cigar- 
box  full  of  turquoises,  and  another  full  of  other 
precious  stones — or,  rather,  imitations  of  precious 
stones — a    little    tray    with    forgeries   of   ancient 
coins;  that  is  about  all.     Pearls  and  diamonds  and 
really  valuable  stones  are  usually  concealed  in  neat 
paper  parcels  carried  on  the  person  by  the  jeweller 
and  produced  on  the  demand  of  customers. 

The  swordmaker  and  gunsmith  displays  many 
daggers  and  blades  of  local  make  and  a  great 
number  of  obsolete  Belgian  and  Russian  re- 
volvers ;  also  a  good  many  Martini  and  Snider 
rifles,  which  have  found  their  way  here  from 
India.  Occasionally  a  good  modern  pistol  or 
gun  is  to  be  seen.  Good  rifles  or  revolvers  find 
a    prompt    sale  in    Persia    at    enormous    figures. 


320  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS       ch.  xxxi 

Nearly  every  man  in  the  country  carries  a  rifle. 
Had  I  chosen,  I  could  have  sold  my  rifles  and 
revolvers  twenty  times  over  when  in  Persia,  the 
sums  offered  me  for  them  being  two  or  three 
times  what  I  had  paid  for  them  myself.  But 
my  rifles  had  been  very  faithful  companions  to 
me  ;  one,  a  256*  Mannlicher,  had  been  twice  in 
Tibet  ;  the  other,  a  30-30  take-down  Win- 
chester, had  accompanied  me  through  the 
Chinese  campaign,  and  I  would  accept  no  sum 
for  them. 

One  is  carried  back  a  few  score  of  years  on 
seeing  the  old  rings  for  carrying  gun-caps,  and 
also  gunpowder  flasks,  and  even  old  picturesque 
flintlocks  and  matchlocks  ;  but  still,  taking 
things  all  round,  it  is  rather  interesting  to  note 
that  there  is  a  considerable  number  of  men  in 
Iran  who  are  well-armed  with  serviceable  cart- 
ridge rifles,  which  they  can  use  with  accuracy. 
Cartridge  rifles  are  at  a  great  premium,  and 
although  their  importation  is  not  allowed,  they 
have  found  their  way  in  considerable  quantities 
from  all  sides,  but  principally,  they  tell  me, 
from  India,  via  the  Gulf. 

One  of  the  notes  of  the  bazaar  is  that  in 
almost  every  shop  one  sees  a  cage  or  two  with 
humming-birds.  In  the  morning  and  evening  a 
male  member  of  the  family  takes  the  cage  and 
birds  out  for  a  walk  in  the  air  and  sun,  for  the 
dulness  and  darkness  of  the  bazaar,  although 
considered  sufficiently  good  for  Persians  them- 
selves, is  not  regarded  conducive  to  sound  health 
and  happiness  for  their  pets. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

The  Grand  Avenue  of  Isfahan — The  Madrassah — Silver  gates 
— The  dome — The  Palace — The  hall  of  forty  columns- 
Ornamentations — The  picture  hall — Interesting  paintings 
— Their  artistic  merit — Nasr-ed-din  Shah's  portrait — The 
ceiling — The  quivering  minarets. 

The  grand  Avenue  of  Isfahan,  much  worn 
and  out  of  repair,  and  having  several  lines  of 
trees  along  its  entire  length  of  half  a  mile  or  so 
down  to  the  river,  is  one  of  the  sights  of  the 
ancient  capital  of  Persia. 

About  half-way  down  the  Avenue  the  famous 
Madrassah  is  to  be  found.  It  has  a  massive, 
handsome  silver  gate,  in  a  somewhat  dilapidated 
condition  at  present,  and  showing  evident  marks 
of  thieving  enterprise.  At  the  entrance  stand 
fluted,  tiled  columns,  with  alabaster  bases,  in  the 
shape  of  vases  some  ten  feet  in  height,  while  a 
frieze  of  beautiful  blue  tiles  with  inscriptions 
from  the  Koran,  and  other  ornamentations,  are  to 
be  admired,  even  in  their  mutilated  condition, 
on  tiles  now  sadly  tumbling  down. 

So  much  for  the  exterior.  Inside,  the  place 
bears  ample  testimony  to  former  grandeur  and 
splendour,  but  at  present  hopeless  decay  is 
rampant    here    as    everywhere     else     in    Persia. 

VOL.   I  Y 


322  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  Madrassah  is  attributed  to  Shah  Sultan 
Hussein,  the  founder  of  the  Shrine  at  Kum,  and 
some  magnificent  bits  of  this  great  work  yet 
remain.  One  can  gaze  at  the  beautiful  dome,  of 
a  superb  delicate  greenish  tint,  surmounted  by  a 
huge  knob  supposed  to  be  of  solid  gold,  and  at 
the  two  most  delightful  minarets,  full  of  grace  in 
their  lines  and  delicately  refined  in  colour,  with 
lattice  work  at  their  summit. 

In  the  courts  and  gardens  are  some  fine 
old  trees,  amid  a  lot  of  uncouth  vegetation, 
while  grass  sprouts  out  between  the  slabs  of 
stone  on  the  paths  and  wherever  it  should  not 
be  ;  the  walls  all  round,  however,  are  magnificent, 
being  built  of  large  green  tiles  with  ornamenta- 
tions of  graceful  curves  and  the  favourite  leaf 
pattern.  In  other  places  white  ornamentations, 
principally  curves  and  yellow  circles,  are  to  be 
noticed  on  dark  blue  tiles.  In  some  of  the 
courts  very  handsome  tiles  with  flower  patterns 
are  still  in  good  preservation. 

There  are  in  the  college  i6o  rooms  for 
students  to  board  and  lodge.  The  buildings 
have  two  storeys  and  nearly  all  have  tiled  fronts, 
less  elaborate  than  the  minarets  and  dome,  but 
quite  pretty,  with  quaint  white  verandahs. 
When  I  visited  the  place  there  were  only  some 
fifty  students,  of  all  ages,  from  children  to  old 
men.  Much  time  is  devoted  by  them  to 
theological  studies  and  some  smattering  of 
geography  and  history. 

One  cannot  leave  Isfahan  without  visiting  the 
old  Palace. 


:ifr^l*^ii  ♦'•)$? 


Mandsomk  Doukwav  in    line  Madkassah,   Isi-aiia.n. 


XXXII  PALACE  OF  THE  FORTY  COLUMNS  323 

In  a  garden  formerly  beautiful  but  semi-barren 
and  untidy  now,  on  a  pavement  of  slabs  which 
are  no  longer  on  the  level  with  one  another, 
stands  the  Palace  of  the  Twenty  Columns,  called 
of  "  the  forty  columns,"  probably  because  the 
twenty  existing  ones  are  reflected  as  in  a  mirror 
in  the  long  rectangular  tank  of  water  extending 
between  this  palace  and  the  present  dwelling  of 
H.  E.  Zil-es-Sultan,  Governor  of  Isfahan. 
Distance  lends  much  enchantment  to  everything 
in  Persia,  and  such  is  the  case  even  in  this 
palace,  probably  the  most  tawdrily  gorgeous 
structure  in  north-west  Persia. 

The  Palace  is  divided  into  two  sections,  the 
open  throne  hall  and  the  picture  hall  behind  it. 
The  twenty  octagonal  columns  of  the  open-air 
hall  were  once  inlaid  with  Venetian  mirrors,  and 
still  display  bases  of  four  grinning  lions  carved 
in  stone.  But,  on  getting  near  them,  one  finds 
that  the  bases  are  chipped  off  and  damaged,  the 
glass  almost  all  gone,  and  the  foundation  of  the 
columns  only  remains,  painted  dark-red.  The 
lower  portion  of  the  column,  for  some  three  feet, 
is  ornamented  with  painted  flowers,  red  in  blue 
vases.  The  floor  under  the  colonnade  is  paved 
with  bricks,  and  there  is  a  raised  platform  for 
the  throne,  reached  by  four  stone  steps. 

There  is  a  frieze  here  of  graceful  although 
conventional  floral  decoration  with  gold  leaves. 
In  the  wall  are  two  windows  giving  light  to  two 
now  empty  rooms.  The  end  central  receptacle 
or  niche  is  gaudily  ornamented  with  Venetian 
looking-glasses  cut   in  small  triangles,  and  it  has 

Y   2 


324  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

a     pretty    ceiling     with     artichoke-leaf    pattern 
capitals  in  an  upward  crescendo  of  triangles. 

The  ceiling  above  the  upper  platform  is  made 
entirely  of  mirrors  with  adornments  in  blue  and 
gold  and  glass,  representing  the  sky,  the  sun, 
and  golden  lions.  Smaller  suns  also  appear  in  the 
ornamentation  of  the  frieze.  The  ceiling  above 
the  colonnade  and  the  beams  between  the 
columns  are  richly  ornamented  in  blue.,  grey, 
red,  and  gold.  This  ceiling  is  divided  into 
fifteen  rectangles,  the  central  panel  having  a 
geometrical  pattern  of  considerable  beauty,  in 
which,  as  indeed  throughout,  the  figure  of  the 
sun  is  prominent. 

The  inner  hall  must  have  been  a  magnificent 
room  in  its  more  flourishing  days.  It  is  now 
used  as  a  storeroom  for  banners,  furniture,  swords, 
and  spears,  piled  everywhere  on  the  floor  and 
against  the  walls.  One  cannot  see  very  well 
what  the  lower  portion  of  the  walls  is  like, 
owing  to  the  quantity  of  things  amassed  all 
round,  and  so  covered  with  dust  as  not  to  invite 
removal  or  even  touch  ;  but  there  seems  to  be 
a  frieze  nine  feet  high  with  elaborate  blue  vases 
on  which  the  artist  called  into  life  gold  flowers 
and  graceful  leaves. 

The  large  paintings  are  of  considerable  in- 
terest apart  from  their  historical  value.  In  the 
centre,  facing  the  entrance  door,  we  detect  Nadir 
Shah,  the  Napoleon  of  Persia,  the  leader  of 
80,000  men  through  Khorassan,  Sistan,  Kandahar 
and  Cabul.  He  is  said  to  have  crossed  from 
Afghanistan     through      the      Khyber     Pass     to 


xxxir  QUAINT  PICTURES  325 

Peshawar,  and  from  there  to  Delhi,  where  his 
presence  led  to  a  scene  of  loot  and  carnage.  But 
to  him  was  certainly  due  the  extension  of  the 
Persian  boundary  to  the  Indus  towards  the  East 
and  to  the  Oxus  on  the  North.  In  the  picture 
he  is  represented  on  horseback  with  a  great 
following  of  elephants  and  turbaned  figures. 

To  the  right  we  have  a  fight,  in  which  Shah 
Ismail,  who  became  Shah  of  Persia  in  1499,  is 
the  hero,  and  a  crowd  of  Bokhara  warriors  and 
Afghans  the  secondary  figures.  Evidently  the 
painting  is  to  commemorate  the  great  successes 
obtained  by  Ismail  in  Khorassan,  Samarkand  and 
Tashkend. 

The  third  is  a  more  peaceful  scene — a  Bokhara 
dancing  girl  performing  before  Shah  Tamasp, 
eldest  of  four  sons  of  Ismail  and  successor  to  his 
throne.  The  Shah  is  represented  entertaining 
the  Indian  Emperor  Humaiyun  in  1543.  The 
lower  portion  of  this  picture  is  in  good  preserva- 
tion, but  the  upper  part  has  been  patched  up 
with  hideous  ornamentations  of  birds  and  flowers 
on  red  ground. 

Over  the  door  Shah  Ismail,  wearing  a  white 
turban,  is  represented  riding  a  white  horse  and 
carrying  a  good  supply  of  arrows.  The  Shah 
is  in  the  act  of  killing  a  foe,  and  the  painting 
probably  represents  one  of  his  heroic  deeds  at  the 
battle  of  Khoi  against   Salim. 

To  the  right  of  the  door  there  is  a  picture  of 
dancing  and  feasting,  with  Shah  Abbas  olFcring 
drink  in  sign  of  friendship  to  Abdul  Mohmek 
Khan  Osbek. 


326  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Finally,  to  the  left  of  the  front  door  we  have 
pictorially  the  most  pleasing  of  the  whole  series, 
another    scene    of    feasting,  with    the    youthful 
figure  of  Shah  Abbas  II.    (died  1668),  a  man   of 
great  pluck,  but  unfortunately  given  to  drunken- 
ness and  licentious  living,  which  developed  brutal 
qualities  in  him.      It  was  he  who  blinded  many  of 
his  relations  by  placing  red-hot  irons  in  front  of 
their  eyes.      Considering  this  too  lenient  a  pun- 
ishment he  ordered  their    eyes  to  be  extracted 
altogether.     We  see  him  now,  sitting  upon  his 
knees,  garbed  in  a  red    tunic    and    turban.     In 
the  foreground  a  most  graceful  dancing-girl,  in 
red  and  green  robes,  with  a  peculiar  waistband, 
and  flying  locks    of  hair.     The  artist  has  very 
faithfully  depicted  the    voluptuous  twist  of  her 
waist,  much  appreciated  by  Persians  in  dancing, 
and  he  has  also  managed  to  infuse   considerable 
character    into   the   musicians,    the    guitar    man 
and  the  followers  of  the  Shah  to  the  left  of  the 
picture,  as  one   looks  at   it,  and  the  tambourine 
figure  to  the  right.      Fruit  and  other  refreshments 
lie  in  profusion  in  vessels  on  the  floor,  elaborately 
painted.       This   picture    is   rectangular,    and    is 
probably  not  only  the  most  artistic  but  the  best 
preserved  of  the  lot. 

Great  labour  and  patience  in  working  out 
details  have  been  the  aim  of  the  artists  of  all 
these  pictures,  rather  than  true  effects  of  nature, 
and  the  faces,  hands,  and  poses  are,  of  course,  as 
in  most  Persian  paintings,  conventionalized  and 
absolutely  regardless  of  proportion,  perspective, 
fore-shortening    or    atmospherical    influence    or 


I  iM,  ''I    /.I  i.-i.^-Sui,tan"s  Ei:nuch^. 


'iW'MVlS 


I 

W  1 


Till.    ••Il.\ll      111       111),     I'KKn'    (1)1.1    \1N^,'      Im  AIIA.N. 


XXXII  A  BAD  PORTRAIT  327 

action — generally  called  aerial  perspective.  The 
objection,  common  in  nearly  all  countries, 
England  included,  to  shadows  on  the  faces  is 
intensified  a  thousand-fold  in  Persian  paintings, 
and  handicaps  the  artist  to  no  mean  degree  in 
his  attempts  to  give  relief  to  his  figures.  More- 
over, the  manipulation  and  concentration  of 
light,  and  the  art  of  composing  a  picture  are  not 
understood  in  old  Persian  paintings,  and  the 
result  is  that  it  is  most  difficult  to  see  a  picture 
as  an  ensemble.  The  eye  roams  all  over  the 
painting,  attracted  here  by  a  patch  of  brilliant 
yellow,  there  by  another  equally  vivacious  red, 
here  by  some  bright  detail,  there  by  something 
else  ;  and  like  so  many  ghosts  in  a  haunted  room 
peep  out  the  huge,  black,  almond-shaped  eyes, 
black-bearded  heads,  all  over  the  picture,  standing 
like  prominent  patches  out  of  the  plane  they  are 
painted  on. 

The  pictures  are,  nevertheless,  extremely  in- 
teresting, and  from  a  Persian's  standpoint  mag- 
nificently painted.  Such  is  not  the  case  with 
the  modern  and  shocking  portrait  of  Nasr-ed- 
din  Shah,  painted  in  the  best  oil  colours  in 
European  style,  his  Majesty  wearing  a  gaudy 
uniform  with  great  wealth  of  gold  and  diamonds. 
This  would  be  a  bad  painting  anywhere  in  Persia 
or  Europe. 

The  ceiling  of  this  hall  is  really  superb.  It 
has  three  domes,  the  centre  one  more  lofty  than 
the  two  side  ones.  The  higher  dome  is  gilt, 
and  is  most  gracefully  ornamented  with  a  refined 
leaf   pattern    and  twelve    gold    stars,    while    the 


328  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

other  two  cupolas  are  blue  with  a  similar  leaf 
ornamentation  in  gold.  There  is  much  quaint 
irregularity  in  the  geometrical  design  of  the 
corners,  shaped  like  a  kite  of  prettily-arranged 
gold,  blue  and  green,  while  other  corners  are 
red  and  light  blue,  with  the  sides  of  green 
and  gold  of  most  delicate  tones.  These  are 
quite  a  violent  contrast  to  the  extravagant  flaming 
red  patches  directly  over  the  paintings. 

The  hall  is  lighted  by  three  windows  at  each 
end  near  the  lower  arch  of  the  side  domes,  and 
three  further  double  windows  immediately  under 
them.  There  is  one  main  entrance  and  three 
exits  (one  large  and  two  small)  towards  the 
throne  colonnade. 

Through  narrow  lanes,  along  ditches  of  dirty 
water,  or  between  high  mud  walls,  one  comes 
six  miles  to  the  west  of  Isfahan  to  one  of  the 
most  curious  sights  of  Persia, — the  quivering 
minarets  above  the  shrine  and  tomb  of  a  saint. 
These  towers,  according  to  Persians,  are  at  least 
eight  centuries  old. 

Enclosed  in  a  rectangular  wall  is  the  high 
sacred  domed  tomb,  and  on  either  side  of  the 
pointed  arch  of  the  Mesjid  rise  towards  the  sky 
the  two  column-like  minarets,  with  quadrangular 
bases.  A  spiral  staircase  inside  each  minaret, 
just  wide  enough  to  let  a  man  through,  conveys 
one  to  the  top,  wherein  four  small  windows  are 
to  be  found.  By  seizing  the  wall  at  one  of  the 
apertures  and  shaking  it  violently  an  unpleasant 
oscillation  can  be  started,  and  continues  of  its 
own    accord,   the    minaret    diverging    from    the 


XXXII  QUIVERING  MINARETS  329 

perpendicular  as  much  as  two  inches  on  either 
side.  Presently  the  second  minaret  begins  to 
vibrate  also  in  uniformity  with  the  first,  and  the 
vibration  can  be  felt  along  the  front  roof-platform 
between  the  two  minarets,  but  not  in  other 
parts  of  the  structure.  A  large  crack  by  the 
side  of  one  of  the  minarets  which  is  said  to 
have  existed  from  time  immemorial  foretells 
that  some  day  or  other  minarets  and  front  wall 
will  come  down,  but  it  certainly  speaks  well  for 
the  elasticity  of  minarets  of  800  years  ago  that 
they  have  stood  up  quivering  so  long. 

The  minarets  are  not  very  high,  some  thirty- 
five  feet  above  the  roof  of  the  Mesjid,  or  about 
seventy-five  feet  from  the  ground.  The  whole 
structure,  of  bricks  and  mud,  is — barring  the 
dangerous  crack — still  in  good  preservation. 
On  the  outside,  the  minarets  are  tiled  in  a  grace- 
ful, geometrical  transverse  pattern  of  dark  and 
light  blue. 

A  visit  to  the  sacred  shrine  of  the  quivering 
minarets  has  miraculous  powers — say  the  Persians 
— of  curing  all  diseases  or  protecting  one  against 
them,  hence  the  pilgrimage  of  a  great  number 
of  natives  afilicted  with  all  sorts  of  complaints. 
Beggars  in  swarms  are  at  the  entrance  waiting, 
like  hungry  mosquitoes,  to  pounce  upon  the 
casual  visitor  or  customary  pleasure-seeker  of 
Isfahan,  for  whom  this  spot  is  a  favourite  resort. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

Isfahan  the  commercial  heart  of  Persia — Dangers  of  maps  in 
argument — Bandar  Abbas — The  possibility  of  a  Russian 
railway  to  Bandar  Abbas — Bandar  Abbas  as  a  harbour-  — 
The  caravan  road  to  Bandar  Abbas — Rates  of  transport — 
Trade — British  and  Russian  influence — Shipping — A 
Russian  line  of  steamers — Customs  under  Belgian  officials 
— Lingah — Its  exports  and  imports. 

Isfahan  is  for  England  the  most  important 
city,  politically  and  commercially,  in  Western 
Persia.  It  is  the  central  point  from  which  roads 
radiate  to  all  parts  of  the  Shah's  Empire.  It  is 
the  commercial  heart,  as  it  were,  of  Persia,  and 
the  future  preponderance  of  Russian  or  British 
influence  in  Isfahan  will  settle  the  balance  in 
favour  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  countries 
and  the  eventual  preponderance  in  the  whole  of 
Western  Iran. 

Khorassan  and  Sistan  stand  on  quite  a  different 
footing,  being  severed  from  the  West  by  the  great 
Salt  Desert,  and  must  be  set  apart  for  the  moment 
and  dealt  with  specially. 

A  reliable  map  ought  to  be  consulted  in  order 
to  understand  the  question  properly,  but  it  should 
be  remembered  that  it  is  ever  dangerous  to  base 
arguments   on   maps   alone   in   discussing    either 


-"~^S|^ 


CH.  XXXIII       FANCY  GEOGRAPHY  331 

political  or  commercial  matters.  Worse  still  is 
the  case  when  astoundingly  incorrect  maps  such 
as  are  generally  manufactured  in  England  are  in 
the  hands  of  people  unfamiliar  with  the  real 
topography  and  resources  of  a  country. 

To  those  who  have  travelled  it  is  quite  extra- 
ordinary what  an  appalling  mass  of  nonsensical 
rubbish  can  be  supplied  to  the  public  by  politi- 
cians, by  newspaper  penny-a-liners,  and  by  home 
roval  geographo-parasites  at  large,  who  base  their 
arguments  on  such  unsteady  foundation.  It  is 
quite  sufficient  for  some  people  to  open  an  atlas 
and  place  their  fingers  on  a  surface  of  cobalt  blue 
paint  in  order  to  select  strategical  harbours,  point 
out  roads  upon  which  foreign  armies  can  invade 
India,  trade  routes  which  ought  to  be  adopted  in 
preference  to  others,  and  so  on,  regardless  of  sea- 
depth,  currents,  winds,  shelter,  and  climatic  con- 
ditions. In  the  case  of  roads  for  invading  armies, 
such  small  trifles  as  hundreds  of  miles  of  desert, 
impassable  mountain  ranges,  lack  of  water,  and 
no  fuel,  are  never  considered  !  These  are  only 
small  trifles  that  do  not  signify— as  they  are  not 
marked  on  the  maps — the  special  fancy  of  the 
cartographer  for  larger  or  smaller  type  in  the 
nomenclature  making  cities  and  villages  more  or 
less  important  to  the  student,  or  the  excess  of  ink 
upon  one  river  course  rather  than  another, 
according  to  the  cartographer's  humour,  making 
that  river  quite  navigable,  notwithstanding  that 
in  reality  there  may  not  be  a  river  nor  a  city  nor 
village  at  all.  We  have  flaming  examples  of  this 
in  our  Government  maps  of  Persia. 


332  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

I  myself  have  had  an  amusing  controversy  in 
some  of  the  London  leading  papers  with  no  less 
a  person  than  the  Secretary  of  a  prominent 
Geographical  Society,  who  assured  the  public 
that  certain  well-known  peaks  did  not  exist 
because  he  could  not  find  them  (they  happened 
to  be  there  all  the  same)  on  his  map  ! 

Such  other  trifles  as  the  connecting  of  lakes  by 
imaginary  rivers  to  maintain  the  reputation  of  a 
scientific  impostor,  or  the  building  of  accurate 
maps  (sic)  from  badly-taken  photographs — the 
direction  of  which  was  not  even  recorded  by  the 
distinguished  photographers — are  frauds  too 
commonly  perpetrated  on  the  innocent  public  by 
certain  so-called  scientific  societies,  to  be  here 
referred  to.  Although  these  frauds  are  treated 
lightly,  the  harm  they  do  to  those  who  take  them 
seriously  and  to  the  public  at  large,  who  are 
always  ready  blindly  to  follow  anybody  with 
sufficient  bounce,  is  enormous. 

Without  going  into  minor  details,  let  us  take 
the  burning  question  of  the  fast-expanding  Rus- 
sian influence  in  the  south  of  Persia.  We  are 
assured  that  Russia  wishes  an  outlet  in  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  suspicions  are  strong  that  her 
eye  is  set  on  Bandar  Abbas.  On  the  map  it 
certainly  appears  a  most  heavenly  spot  for  a  har- 
bour, and  we  hear  from  scribblers  that  it  can  be 
made  into  a  strong  naval  base  and  turned  into  a 
formidable  position.  The  trade  from  Meshed 
and  Khorassan  and  Teheran,  Isfahan,  Yezd,  and 
Kerman  is  with  equal  theoretical  facility  switched 
on  to   this  place.     Even    allowing    that    Russia 


XXXIII  BANDAR  ABBAS  333 

should  obtain  a  concession  of  this  place — a  most 
unlikely  thing  to  be  asked  for  or  conceded  while 
Persia  remains  an  independent  country — matters 
would  not  be  as  simple  for  Russia  as  the  man  in 
the  street  takes  them  to  be. 

It  would  first  of  all  be  necessary  to  construct 
a  railway  connecting  the  Trans-Caspian  line 
with  Bandar  Abbas,  a  matter  of  enormous 
expense  and  difficulty,  and  likely  enough  never 
to  be  a  profitable  financial  enterprise.  The 
political  importance  is  dubious.  A  long  railway 
line  unguarded  in  a  foreign  country  could  but  be 
of  little  practical  value.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  Persia  is  a  very  thinly  populated  country, 
with  vast  tracts  of  land,  such  as  the  Salt  Desert, 
almost  absolutely  uninhabited,  and  where  the 
construction  of  such  a  railway  would  involve 
serious  difficulties,  owing  to  the  lack  of  water 
for  several  months  of  the  year,  intense  heat, 
shifting  sands,  and  in  some  parts  sudden  inun- 
dations during  the  short  rainy  season. 

Moreover,  Bandar  Abbas  itself,  although 
ideally  situated  on  the  maps,  is  far  from  being  an 
ideal  harbour.  The  water  is  shallow,  and  there 
is  no  safe  shelter  ;  the  heat  unbearable  and  un- 
healthy. At  enormous  expense,  of  course,  this 
spot,  like  almost  any  other  spot  on  any  coast, 
could  be  turned  into  a  fair  artificial  harbour.  The 
native  town  itself — if  it  can  be  honoured  with 
such  a  name — consists  of  a  few  miserable  mud 
houses,  with  streets  in  which  one  sinks  in  filth 
and  mud.  The  inhabitants  are  the  most  miserable 
and  worst  ruffians  in   Persia,  together   with  some 


334  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Hindoos.     There  is  a  European  community   of 
less  than  half-a-dozen  souls. 

The  British  India  and  other  coasting  steamers 

touch   here,   and   therefore  this   has  been   made 

the  starting-point  for  caravans   to    Kerman   and 

Yezd  and  Sistan  via  Bam.     But  for  Isfahan  and 

Teheran   the  more  direct  and  shorter  route  via 

Bushire    is    selected.      The    caravan    road    from 

Bandar  Abbas  to  Kerman  and  Yezd  is  extremely 

bad  and  unsafe.     Several  times  of  late  the  track 

has  been  blocked,  and  caravans  robbed.     During 

1900,  and  since  that  date,  the  risk  of  travelhng 

on  the  road  seems  to  have  increased,  and  as  it  is 

useless  for  Persians  to  try  and  obtain  protection 

or   compensation  from   their  own    Government 

the    traffic    not    only    has    been    diverted    when 

possible  to  other  routes,  principally  Bushire,  but 

the    rates    for    transport    of    goods    inland    had 

at  one  time  become  almost  prohibitive.     In  the 

summer  of  1900,  it  cost  18  tomans   (about  £3 

9J-.)  to  convey  900  lbs.  weight  as  far  as  Yezd, 

but  in  the  autumn  the  charges  rose  to  56  tomans 

(about  _^io    I3J-.)    or  more  than  three  times  as 

much  for  the  same  weight  of  goods.     Eventually 

the  rates  were  brought  down  to  22  tomans,  but 

only  for  a  short  time,  after  which  they  fluctuated 

again  up  to  28  tomans.     It  was  with  the  greatest 

difficulty  that  loading  camels  could  be  obtained 

at  all,  owing  to  the  deficiency  of  exports,  and 

this  partly  accounted  for  the  extortionate  prices 

demanded.      An    English    gentleman    whom    I 

met  in  Kerman  told  me  that  it  was  only  at  great 

expense  and  trouble  that  he  was  able  to  procure 


XXXIII         NO  RUSSIAN  INFLUENCE  335 

camels  to  proceed  from  Bandar  Abbas  to  Ker- 
man,  and  even  then  he  had  to  leave  all  his  lug- 
gage behind  to  follow^  when  other  animals  could 
be  obtained. 

According  to  statistics  furnished  by  the  British 
Vice-Consul,  the  exports  of  1900  were  half 
those  of  1899,  the  exact  figures  being  ^202,232 
for  1899  ;  ^102,671  for  1900.  Opium,  v/hich 
had  had  the  lead  by  far  in  previous  years,  fell 
from  ^48,367  to  ^4,440.  Raw  cotton,  how- 
ever, not  only  held  its  own  but  rose  to  a  value 
of  ^18,692  from  ^6,159  the  previous  year.  In 
the  years  1888,  1889,  1890,  and  1891  the 
exports  of  raw  cotton  were  abnormal,  and  rose 
to  about  ^35,000  in  1890,  the  highest  record 
during  the  decade  from  1888  to  1897. 

Large  quantities  of  henna  and  opium  are  also 
exported  from  this  spot,  as  it  is  the  principal 
outlet  of  the  Kerman  and  Yezd  districts,  but 
the  trade  may  be  said  to  be  almost  entirely  in 
British  hands  at  present,  and  Russian  influence 
so  far  is  infinitesimal. 

We  find  that,  next  to  opium,  fruit  and 
vegetables,  especially  dates,  constitute  a  large  part 
of  the  export,  then  wool,  drugs  and  spices,  salt, 
carpets  and  woollen  fabrics,  piece  goods,  silk 
(woven),  seeds,  skins  and  tanned  leather,  wheat 
and  cereals,  and  cotton  raw  and  manufactured. 
Perfumery — rose-water — was  largely  exported 
from  1891  to  1896.  The  exportation  of  tobacco 
seems  to  decrease,  although  it  is  now  beginning 
to  look  up  again  a  little.  Dyes  and  colouring 
substances  are  also  exported. 


236  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  value  of  imports  is  very  nearly  double 
that  of  the  exports.  Cotton  goods  have  the 
lead  by  a  long  way,  then  come  tea,  and  piece 
goods,  loaf-sugar,  powdered  sugar,  indigo,  metals, 
wheat  and  cereals,  spices,  drugs,  wool  and  woollen 
fabrics,  jute  fabrics,  cheap  cutlery,  coffee, 
tobacco,  mules,  horses,  donkeys,  etc.,  in  the 
succession  enumerated. 

It  is  pleasant  to  find  that  the  shipping  in- 
creases yearly  at  Bandar  Abbas,  and  that,  second 
only  to  Persian  vessels,  the  number  of  British 
sailing  vessels  entering  Bandar  Abbas  in  1900 
was  nearly  double  (48)  of  the  previous  year  (28). 
Steamers  were  in  the  proportion  of  loi  to  64. 
Although  in  number  of  sailing  vessels  the 
Persians  have  the  priority,  because  of  the  great 
number  of  small  crafts,  the  total  tonnage  of  the 
Persian  vessels  was  5,320  tons  against  75,440 
tons  in  1899,  and  139,164  tons  in  1900  British. 

Turkish  steamers  occasionally  ply  to  Bandar 
Abbas  and  Muscat  and  also  Arab  small  sailing 
crafts. 

It  is  rather  curious  to  note  that  in  1899  the 
imports  into  Bandar  Abbas  came  entirely  from 
India,  Great  Britain  and  France,  and  in  a  small 
measure  from  Muscat,  Zanzibar,  the  Arab  Coast, 
Bahrain  and  Persian  ports,  whereas  the  following 
year,  1900,  the  imports  from  India  fell  to  less 
than  half  their  previous  value,  from  ;(r435,26i 
to  ^^204,306,  and  from  the  United  Kingdom 
there  was  a  diminution  from  £S6, 1 97  to  >C^9'597  '•> 
whereas  France  doubled  hers  in  1900  and 
other   countries  entered  into  competition.      The 


xxxiii  THE  NEW  CUSTOMS  337 

Chinese  Empire,  curiously  enough,  was  the 
strongest,  to  the  value  of  /^  18,4. 19,  presumably 
with  teas,  and  Austria-Hungary  ^10,509.  Ger- 
many and  Turkey  imported  to  the  value  of 
some  ^2,174  and  ^^2,147  respectively.  Belgium 
^2,254,  Java  /^7,8i9,  Mauritius  ^^3,564,  Muscat 
£6()2,  the  Canaries  ^^637,  America  ^C^^^'  ^"^ 
Arabia  X^494.  Japan  contributed  to  the  amount 
of  ^^305,  Sweden  £,2y^^  Italy  ^^82,and  Switzer- 
land the  modest  sum  of  ^8. 

A  most  significant  point  is  that  Russia,  with 
all  her  alleged  aims  and  designs,  only  contributed 
to  the  small  amount  of  >C572-  Nothing  was 
exported  from  Bandar  Abbas  to  Russia.  It 
would  appear  from  this  that  at  least  commercially 
Russia's  position  at  Bandar  Abbas  was  not  much 
to  be  feared  as  late  as  1 900.  Since  then  a  Russian 
line  of  steamers  has  been  established  from  the 
Black  Sea  to  the  Persian  Gulf  ports,  but  I  have 
no  accurate  statistics  at  hand.  It  is  said  not  to 
be  a  financial  success. 

The  establishment  ot  Customs  under  Belgian 
officials  in  1900  caused  some  trouble  at  first,  and 
may  have  been  responsible  for  a  portion  of  the 
falling-off  in  trade,  but  it  is  now  agreed  by 
everybody  that  the  system  is  carried  on  in  a  fair 
and  honest  manner,  preferable  to  the  extortionate 
fashion  employed  by  the  former  speculators  who 
farmed  out  the  Customs. 

I  rather  doubt  whether  Russia's  aim  is  even 
directed  towards  Lingah,  to  the  south-west  of 
Bandar  Abbas,  as  has  been  supposed  by  others. 
Although    this    port   would    afford   a   deeper  and 

VOL.   I  ^ 


338  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xxxiii 

better  anchorage  and  a  breakwater,  it  has  the 
same  difficulties  of  approach  by  land  from  Russia 
as  Bandar  Abbas — in  fact,  greater  ones,  being 
further  south. 

Lingah  is  a  more  prosperous  port  than  Bandar 
Abbas,  its  exports  being  roughly  two-thirds 
larger  than  those  of  Bandar  Abbas,  and  its  imports 
one-third  in  excess.  In  value  the  export  and 
import  of  pearls  form  the  chief  item,  next  come 
wheat  and  cotton.  Very  little  tea  is  disembarked 
at  Lingah,  but  dates  and  firearms  were  landed  in 
considerable  quantities,  especially  in  1897. 
Coffise  and  tobacco  were  more  in  demand  here 
than  at  Bandar  Abbas,  and  metals  were  largely 
imported.  White  sea-shells  found  their  way  in 
huge  quantities  to  Beluchistan,  where  the  women 
use  them  for  decorating  their  persons.  Bangles 
and  necklaces  are  made  with  them,  and  neck- 
bands for  the  camels,  horses  and  mules,  as  well 
as  ornamentations  on  the  saddle  bags.  With 
these  two  exceptions  the  imports  and  exports  of 
Lingah  are  made  up  of  larger  quantities  of 
articles  similar  to  those  brought  to  and  from 
Bandar  Abbas. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

Mahommerah — Where  Russia's  aims  are  directed — Advantajres 
of  Mahommerah — The  navigation  of  the  Karun  River — 
Traffic — Rates  on  the  Ahwaz-Isfahan  track — The 
Government's  attitude — Wheat — Russian  influence — 
Backhtiari  Chiefs — -Up  and  dov^^n  river  trade — Gum — 
Cotton  goods — Sugar — Caravan  route — Steamers — Disad- 
vantages of  a  policy  of  drift — Russian  enterprise. 

So  much  for  Bandar  Abbas  and  Lingah.  I 
will  not  touch  on  Bushire,  too  well  known  to 
English  people,  but  Mahommerah  may  have  a 
special  interest  to  us,  and  also  to  Russia.  It  is 
rather  curious  to  note  that  it  has  never  struck  the 
British  politician  nor  the  newspaper  writer  that 
Russia's  aims,  based  usually  on  sound  and 
practical  knowledge,  might  be  focussed  on  this 
port,  which  occupies  the  most  favourable  position 
in  the  Persian  Gulf  for  Russia's  purposes.  Even 
strategically  it  is  certainly  as  good  as  Bandar 
Abbas,  while  commercially  its  advantages  over 
the  latter  port  are  a  thousandfold  greater. 

These  advantages  are  a  navigable  river,  through 
fertile  country,  instead  of  an  almost  impassable, 
waterless  desert,  and  a  distance  as  the  crow  flies 
from  Russian  territory  to  Mahommerah  one- 
third     shorter     than     from      Bandar    Al)l)as.      A 

z   2 


340  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

railway  through  the  most  populated  and  richest 
part  of  Persia  could  easily  be  constructed  to 
Ahwaz.     The  climate  is  healthy  though  warm. 

Another  most  curious  fact  which  seems  almost 
incredible  is  that  the  British  Government,  through 
ignorance  or  otherwise,  by  a  policy  of  drift  may 
probably  be  the  cause  of  helping  Russia  to  reap 
the  benefit  of  British  enterprise  on  the  Karun 
River,  in  the  development  of  which  a  consider- 
able amount  of  British  capital  has  already  been 
sunk.  The  importance,  political  and  commercial, 
of  continuing  the  navigation  of  the  Karun  River 
until  it  does  become  a  financial  success — which 
it  is  bound  to  be  as  soon  as  the  country  all  round 
it  is  fully  developed — is  too  obvious  for  me  to 
write  at  length  upon  it,  but  it  cannot  be  expected 
that  a  private  company  should  bear  the  burden 
and  loss  entirely  for  the  good  of  the  mother 
country  without  any  assistance  from  the  home 
Government. 

The  British  firm,  who  run  the  steamers,  with 
much  insight  and  praiseworthy  enterprise  im- 
proved the  existing  caravan  track  from  Isfahan 
to  Ahwaz  on  the  Karun  River,  the  point  up  to 
which  the  river  is  navigable  by  steamers  not 
drawing  more  than  four  feet.  They  built  two 
fine  suspension  bridges,  one  over  the  Karun  at 
Godar-i-Balutak  and  the  other,  the  Pul-Amarat 
(or  Built-bridge)  constructed  on  the  side  of  an 
ancient  masonry  bridge.  The  track  has  thus 
been  rendered  very  easy  and  every  assistance  was 
offered  to  caravans,  while  a  regular  service  of 
river    steamers     plied     from     Mahommerah     to 


XXXIV  THE  AHWAZ  TRACK  341 

Ahwaz,  to  relieve  the  traffic  by  water.  The 
s.s.  Blosse  Lynch,  250  tons,  was  sent  up  at  first, 
but  was  too  large,  so  the  s.s.  Malamir,  120  tons, 
was  specially  built  for  the  Karun  navigation. 

Matters  were  very  prosperous  at  first,  until 
many  obstacles  came  in  the  way.  The  road  has 
been  open  to  traffic  some  three  years.  The  first 
year  traffic  was  healthy  and  strong,  but  the  second 
year,  owing  to  famine  in  Arabistan,  the  traffic 
suddenly  dropped  and  nothing  would  induce 
muleteers  to  travel  by  that  route.  Although 
they  were  offered  as  much  as  100  (>C2)  to  iio 
krans  ^f^z  \s)  per  load  from  Isfahan  to  Ahwaz, 
a  distance  of  17  stages — 277  miles — they  pre- 
ferred to  take  70  krans  (^i  c)s  2d)  to  Bushire,  a 
journey  of  about  30  stages,  over  a  distance  of  5  10 
miles. 

The  caravan  men  in  Persia  are  curious  people 
to  deal  with,  and  it  takes  a  very  long  time 
to  imbue  their  minds  with  new  ideas.  In  the 
case  of  the  Ahwaz  road  it  was  partly  con- 
servatism and  fear  instigated  by  the  Mullahs  that 
prevented  their  taking  loads  to  the  steamers. 

It  was  fully  expected  that  the  route  could  not 
pay  its  way  for  at  least  five  years  from  its  in- 
auguration, and  the  British  Government — which 
at  that  time  seemed  to  understand  the  value  of 
the  undertaking — agreed  to  give  in  equal  shares 
witli  the  Government  of  India  a  collective 
guarantee  against  losses  up  to  ^,3,000  tor  the 
first  two  years,  then  of  ^(,'2,000  for  five  years. 
For  some  unaccountable  reason  tlic  Govcninicnt 
of  India,  which    tlic   scheme   mostly   coiKcmcd, 


342  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

dropped  out,  and  the  guarantee  was  further 
reduced  to  £l,ooo  payable  by  the  home 
Government  only.  As  a  result  of  this  the 
steamers  have  been  run  since  at  a  considerable 
loss,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  patriotism  of 
Lynch  Brothers,  and  the  prospects  to  which  they 
still  cling  of  a  successful  issue,  the  navigation  of 
the  Karun  would  have  already  come  to  an  un- 
timely end. 

The    principal     article     of     export    of     any 
importance    was    wheat,     grown     in     enormous 
quantities  in  the  fertile  plains  of  Arabistan  ;   and 
were  its  export  legal,  the  export  of  grain  would 
be  infinitely  greater  than  the  whole  of  the  present 
imports.     But    the     Persian     Government     un- 
fortunately prohibited  the  export  of  grain  from 
Persia,  nominally  to  allay  and  prevent  famine  in 
the  country,  in  fact  to  enrich  local  governors  by 
permitting     illicit     export.      Consequently,     the 
peasants    could    not    sell    their    produce   in    the 
open  market  and  had  to  sell  it,  accepting  what 
they  could  get  from  speculators  at  about  half  the 
actual   value.     This    led   to   the   discontinuance 
of  the  cultivation   of  wheat.     When  for  three 
years  the  exportation    of  grain  was  permitted, 
the  acreage  under  cultivation  was  enormous  and 
yielded  very  large   returns,  but   as   soon   as  the 
prohibition  was  set  in  force  it  dwindled  year  by 
year  until  it  became  approximately  the  fifth  part 
of  what  it  originally  was.     On  the  top  of  all  this 
a  severe  drought  occurred  and  a  famine  resulted. 
It  seems  very  likely  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment may  now  fall  out  also  and  stop  the  meagre 


XXXIV  BACKHTIARIS  343 

guarantee  of  j(^  1,000.  This  may  have  disastrous 
results,  for  it  cannot  be  expected  that  a 
private  firm  will  continue  the  navigation  of  the 
Karun  at  a  great  loss.  This  is,  in  a  few  words, 
what  it  may  lead  to.  Should  the  British 
abandon  the  work  already  done,  Russia  will  step 
in — she  has  had  her  eye  upon  the  Karun  more 
than  upon  any  other  spot  in  Persia — and  reap 
the  benefit  of  the  money  and  labour  that  has 
been  spent  by  us.  In  the  plain  of  Arabistan 
Russian  influence  is  not  yet  very  far  advanced, 
but  among  the  Backhtiaris  it  is  spreading  fast. 
Intrigue  is  rampant.  The  Russian  agents  en- 
deavour to  get  the  tribesmen  into  disgrace  with 
the  Government  and  they  succeed  to  a  great 
extent  in  their  aim. 

Isphandiar  Khan,  who  has  the  title  of  Sirdar 
Assad,  is  the  head  chief  of  the  Backhtiaris,  and 
with  his  cousin  Sephadar  keeps  going  the  various 
branches  of  the  family,  but  serious  family 
squabbles  are  very  frequent  and  may  eventually 
cause  division.  The  two  above  named  men 
manage  to  keep  all  together  except  Hadji-Riza 
Kuli  Khan,  who  is  an  opposing  factor.  He  is 
an  uncle  of  Isphandiar  Khan,  and  his  rancour 
arises  from  having  been  ousted  from  the  chief- 
tainship. He  is  said  to  have  fallen  very  badly 
under  Russian  influence,  and  instigated  his 
followers  to  rebellion,  the  cause  being,  however, 
put  down  not  to  family  squabbles  and  jealousy — 
the  true  causes — but  to  disapproval  of  the  new 
road  and  the  influence  exercised  by  it  upon  the 
Backhtiari  country. 


344  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Only  about  one-fifth  of  foreign  imports  into 
Mahomnierah  find  their  way  up  the  Karun 
River.  It  is  certainly  to  be  regretted  that  no 
articles  direct  from  the  United  Kingdom  are 
forced  up  the  river.  The  trade  with  India  in 
1900  only  amounted  to  some  ^43,062  against 
^30,149  the  previous  year,  France,  Turkey,  and 
Egypt  being  the  only  other  importers.  The 
total  imports  into  Mahommerah  for  tranship- 
ment to  Karun  ports  amounted  to  ^59,194  in 
1900,  and  showed  a  considerable  increase  on 
1899. 

Piece  goods  find  their  way  up  the  river  in 
considerable  quantities.  Then  loaf-sugar  and 
soft  sugar  are  the  principal  articles  of  import  ; 
dates,  iron,  and  treacle  come  next  ;  while  various 
metals,  tea  and  matches  come  last. 

In  regard  to  local  commerce  the  river  trade 
for  1900  was  j^ 1 00,437,  showing  an  increase  of 
^37,449  upon  the  trade  of  1899.  This  ought 
to  be  regarded  as  satisfactory,  considering  the 
slowness  of  Oriental  races  in  moving  from  their 
old  grooves. 

The  down  river  trade  falls  very  short  of  the 
up  river  commerce,  and  consists  mostly  of  wheat, 
oil  seeds,  opium,  wool,  gum,  flour,  beans,  cotton, 
rice,  tobacco,  piece  goods,  glue.  In  1900  the 
decrease  in  the  carriage  of  wheat  was  enormous, 
and  also  the  trade  in  oil  seeds.  Although  gum 
was  carried  down  stream  in  much  larger  quanti- 
ties, owing  to  the  yield  being  unusually  abun- 
dant, the  price  obtained  was  very  poor,  owing 
to  the  falling  London  market.     Gum  Tragacanth 


XXXIV  MAHOMMERAH  345 

was  conveyed  principally  by  the  Isfahan-Ahwaz 
route.  Notwithstanding  all  this  there  was  an 
increase  of  _£  17,000  in  1900  over  the  trade  of 
1899,  which  shows  that  the  route  is  nevertheless 
progressing  and  is  worth  cultivating. 

Cotton  goods,  which  are  reimported  from 
India  mostly  by  Parsee  and  Jewish  firms, 
originally  come  from  Manchester  and  are  in 
great  demand.  They  consist  of  grey  shirtings, 
prints  (soft  finish),  lappets,  imitation  Turkey  red, 
Tanjibs  and  jaconets.  Marseilles  beetroot  sugar 
is  holding  its  own  against  other  cheaper  sugars 
imported  lately  and  finds  its  way  to  Isfahan  by 
the  Ahwaz  road. 

Caravans  usually  employ  twenty  days  on  the 
Ahwaz-Isfahan  journey,  but  the  distance  can 
easily  be  covered  in  fifteen  days  and  even  less. 
A  fortnightly  steamer  is  run  by  the  Euphratis 
and  Tigris  Steam  Navigation  Company  to 
Ahwaz. 

Mahommerah  exports  chiefly  to  India,  then 
to  Turkey,  the  United  Kingdom,  Hong  Kong, 
the  Persian  Gulf  ports,  Egypt  and  France.  In 
1 900  the  exports  were  to  the  value  of  j^i  1 5,359. 
The  imports  were  similar  to  those  of  Bandar 
Abbas,  viz.  : — cotton  goods,  sugar,  cofi:ee,  silk, 
iron,  tea,  manufactured  metal,  thread,  spices, 
etc.  They  amounted  to  an  aggregate  sum  of 
7^28 1, 570  in  1900,  against  /,202,492  in 
r899.i 

^  Sec  Diplomatic  and  Consular  Reports,  Trade  of  Persian 
Gulf  for  the  year  1900.  Foreign  Office.  H.M.  Stationery 
Office. 


346  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

If  I  have  gone  into  details  it  is  to  show  the 
mistake  made  by  the  British  Government  in 
letting  such  a  valuable  position,  of  absolute 
vital  importance  to  our  interest,  drift  slowly  but 
surely  into  Russian  hands.  Russia's  aims  in  the 
Gulf  are  at  present  concentrated  on  the  Karun 
River  ;  our  movements  are  closely  watched,  and 
nothing  could  be  more  probable  than,  that  if  we 
abandon  the  Karun,  Russia  will  at  once  fill  our 
place  and  turn  the  whole  business  into  a 
formidable   success. 

The  Russian  Government  have  now  granted  a 
subsidy  of  ^(^5,000  per  round  voyage  to  the 
Russian  Steam  Navigation  to  run  three  steamers 
a  year  from  Odessa  to  Bussorah,  touching  at  all 
the  principal  ports  of  the  Persian  Gulf  The 
s.s.  Kornilof  made  two  voyages  in  1901, 
arriving  in  Bussorah  in  April  and  November. 
On  her  first  voyage  she  landed  most  of  her  cargo 
in  Bushire,  and  only  conveyed  8,000  cases  of 
petroleum  and  a  quantity  of  wood  for  date  boxes; 
but  on  her  second  journey  16,500  cases  of  pe- 
troleum were  landed  at  Bussorah  and  a  further 
supply  of  wood,  besides  a  great  number  of 
samples  of  Russian  products,  such  as  flour,  sugar 
and  matches.  On  the  second  return  journey  the 
Kornilof  took  back  to  Odessa  freight  for  two 
thousand  pounds  from  Bussorah,  principally 
dates,  a  cargo  which  had  been  previously  carried 
by  British  steamers  to  Port  Said  and  then  tran- 
shipped for  the  Black  Sea. 

The  appearance  of  the  Russian  boats  excited 
considerable   interest    among    the    natives     and 


XXXIV  RUSSIAN  ENTERPRISE  347 

merchants,  both  British  and  indigenous.  Com- 
ments are  superfluous  on  the  grant  given  by  the 
Russian  Government  to  further  Russian  trade, 
and  the  w^avering  attitude  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  safeguarding  interests  already  acquired. 


CHAPTER   XXXV 

The  British  Consul-General  in  Isfahan — Russia's  influence  in 
Southern  Persia — H.R.H.  Zil-es-Sultan — Departure  for 
Yezd — Pigeon  towers — A  Persian  telegraph  line — Ghiavaz 
— Characteristics  of  the  scenery — A  village  in  ruins — Types 
— Saigsi — Mud  dunes — Mirage — A  reservoir — Kanats — 
Scarcity  of  fodder. 

I  ONLY  halted  a  few  days  in  Isfahan,  during 
which  time  I  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Preece,  the 
British  Consul-General.  Mr.  Preece's  hospitality 
and  popularity  are  proverbial  among  Europeans 
and  natives  all  over  Persia.  A  step  in  the 
right  direction  was  taken  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  making  a  Consulate-General  in  Isfahan, 
and  another  good  step  was  that  of  furnishing 
the  Consulate  with  a  guard  of  mounted  Indian 
soldiers.  Prestige  and  outward  show  go  much 
together  in  Persia,  and  no  matter  to  what 
extent  one's  private  feelings  may  rebel  at  the 
idea,  we  must  make  a  display,  I  suppose. 

We  have  in  Mr.  Preece  a  very  able  and 
intellectual  officer  ;  a  man  who  understands  the 
Persians  thoroughly,  and  a  gentleman  of  un- 
common tact  and  kindliness.  His  artistic  taste 
has  served  him  well,  so  that  the  Consulate  and 
grounds    have    been    rendered  most  comfortable 


CH.  XXXV         A  POLICY  OF  DRIFT  349 

and  delightful,  and  the  collections  of  carpets  and 
silver  which  he  has  made  during  his  many  years' 
residence  in  Persia  are  very  interesting. 

It  is  true  that  Russian  influence  is  spreading 
fast  tovs^ards  the  south,  and  that  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Russian  Consulate  in  Isfahan,  with 
its  guard  of  Cossacks,  has  made  considerable 
impression  on  the  population,  but  no  doubt 
Mr.  Preece  will  be  able  to  maintain  British 
prestige  high,  if  the  Government  at  home 
show  grit  and  enable  him  to  do  so. 

It  is  most  important,  I  think,  to  come  to 
some  sound  conclusion  on  the  policy  to  be 
followed  towards  Russia  in  Persia,  either  to 
check  her  advance  immediately  and  firmly,  or 
to  come  to  some  satisfactory  agreement  with 
her  so  that  her  interests  and  ours  may  not 
altogether  clash  ;  but  it  cannot  be  impressed 
too  often  upon  our  minds  that  our  present 
policy  of  drift  and  wavering  is  most  disastrous 
to  our  interests.  We  have  lost  Northern  Persia. 
Southern  Persia  will  soon  slip  from  our  grip 
unless  we  pull  up  soon  and  open  our  eyes  wide 
to  what  is  happening. 

We  place  too  much  reliance  on  the  fact  that 
Zil-es-Sultan,  the  Shah's  brother  and  now 
Governor  of  Isfahan,  was  once  extremely  pro- 
British.  We  have  a  way  of  getting  ideas  into 
our  heads  and  nothing  will  drive  them  out 
again,  but  we  forget  that  things  and  people 
change  in  Persia  as  everywhere  else,  and  what 
was  accurate  fifteen  years  ago  may  not  be  so 
now.      Also  it  must  be  remembered  that  Zil-es- 


350  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Sultan,  although  in  high  power,  does  not 
occupy  the  same  high  position  politically  as 
before  the  late  Shah's  death.  He  and  his 
family  are  kept  under  strict  control  of  the  Shah, 
and  any  pro-English  ideas  which  they  may  still 
have  are  discouraged,  if  not  promptly  eradicated. 
His  Highness's  sons  have  been  forbidden  to' be 
educated  in  Europe  or  to  travel  abroad,  although 
a  visit  to  Russia  only  might  be  allowed.  Beyond 
the  secondary  power  of  a  High  Governor,  Zil- 
es-Sultan  has  no  other  influence,  and  has  to  con- 
form to  superior  orders.  He  is  now  no  longer 
very  young,  and  his  popularity,  although  still 
very  great,  cannot  be  said  to  be  on  the  increase. 
While  in  Isfahan  I  had  an  audience  of  his 
Highness.  One  could  not  help  being  struck  at 
first  glance  by  the  powerful  countenance  of  the 
Prince,  and  the  mixture  of  pride  and  worry 
plainly  depicted  on  his  face.  He  spoke  very 
inteUigently  but  was  most  guarded  in  his  speech. 
One  of  his  sons  Baharam  Mirza — a  wonderfully 
clever  young  man,  who  spoke  French  and 
English  fluently  although  he  had  never  been 
out  of  Persia — interpreted.  I  was  much  im- 
pressed by  the  kindliness  of  the  Zil-es-Sultan 
towards  his  children,  and  in  return  by  the  in- 
tense respect,  almost  fear,  of  these  towards  their 
father.  After  a  pleasant  visit  and  the  usual  com- 
pliments and  refreshments,  coffee  was  brought, 
the  polite  signal  that  the  audience  should  come 
to  a  close.  The  Prince  accompanied  the  Consul 
and  myself  to  the  door  of  the  room — a  most 
unusual  compliment. 


1!.   k.  II.    /ii    1.^  M  II  \^r  <l()vcriicir  of  Isfalian. 


XXXV  OFF  TO  YEZD 


351 


There  were  many  soldiers,  and  servants  and 
attendants  with  silver-topped  maces  who  escorted 
us  out  of  the  grounds,  where  we  found  the 
Consular  guard  again,  and  returned  to  the 
Consulate. 

Two  days  later  I  departed  for  Yezd.  There 
is  no  high  road  between  the  two  cities  ;  only  a 
mere  track.  No  postal  service  and  relays  of 
horses  are  stationed  on  the  track,  but,  by  giving 
notice  some  days  previous  to  one's  departure, 
horses  can  be  sent  out  ahead  from  Isfahan  to 
various  stages  of  the  journey,  until  the  Kashan- 
Nain-Yezd  road  is  met,  on  v^^hich  post  horses 
can  again  be  obtained  at  the  Chappar  Khanas. 
This,  however,  involved  so  much  uncertainty 
and  exorbitant  expense  that  I  preferred  to 
make  up  my  own  caravan  of  mules,  the  first 
part  of  the  journey  being  rather  hilly. 

On  leaving  Isfahan  there  are  mountains  to  the 
south,  the  Urchin  range,  and  also  to  the  east, 
very  rugged  and  with  sharply  defined  edges. 
To  the  north-east  stand  distant  elevations,  but 
nothing  can  be  seen  due  north.  We  go  through 
a  great  many  ruins  on  leaving  the  city,  and  here, 
too,  as  in  other  cities  of  Persia,  one  is  once 
more  struck  by  the  unimportant  appearance  of 
the  city  from  a  little  distance  off^.  The  green 
dome  of  the  Mosque,  and  four  minarets  are  seen 
rising  on  the  north-east,  five  more  slender 
minarets  like  factory  chimneys — one  extremely 
high — then  everything  else  the  colour  of  mud. 

The  traffic  near  the  city  is  great.  Hundreds 
of  donkeys  and  mules  toddle  along  both  towards 


352  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and  away  from  the  city  gate.  The  dust  is 
appalHng.  There  is  nothing  more  tantahzing 
than  the  long  stretches  of  uninteresting  country 
to  be  traversed  in  Persia,  where,  much  as  one 
tries,  there  is  nothing  to  rest  one's  eye  upon  ; 
so  it  is  with  great  reHef — ahnost  joy — that  we 
come  now  to  something  new  in  the  scenery,  in 
the  shape  of  architecture — a  great  number  of 
most  pecuHar  towers. 

These  are  the  pigeon  towers — a  great  institu- 
tion in  Central  Persia.  They  are  cylindrical  in 
shape,  with  castellated  top,  and  are  solidly  built 
with  massive  walls.  They  stand  no  less  than 
thirty  to  forty  feet  in  height,  and  possess  a 
central  v/ell  in  which  the  guano  is  collected — 
the  object  for  which  the  towers  are  erected.  A 
quadrangular  house  on  the  top,  and  innumerable 
small  cells,  where  pigeons  lay  their  eggs  and 
breed  their  young,  are  constructed  all  round  the 
tower.  These  towers  are  quite  formidable 
looking  structures,  and  are  so  numerous,  par- 
ticularly in  the  neighbourhood  of  Isfahan,  as 
to  give  the  country  quite  a  strongly  fortified 
appearance.  The  guano  is  removed  once  a 
year.  After  passing  Khorasgun,  at  Ghiavaz — a 
small  village — one  could  count  as  many  as 
twenty-four  of  these  pigeon  houses. 

Some  amusement  could  be  got  from  the  way 
the  Persian  telegraph  line  had  been  laid  between 
Isfahan  and  Yezd,  via  Nain.  There  were  no 
two  poles  of  the  same  height  or  shape  ;  some 
were  five  or  six  feet  long,  others  ten  or  fifteen  ; 
—some  were  straight,  some   crooked  ;   some  ot 


-^1 


XXXV     A  PERSIAN  TELEGRAPH  LINE        3S3 

most  irregular  knobby  shapes.  As  to  the  wire, 
when  it  did  happen  to  be  supported  on  the  pole 
it  was  not  fastened  to  an  insulator,  as  one  would 
expect,  but  merely  rested  on  a  nail,  or  in  an 
indentation  in  the  wood.  For  hundreds  of 
yards  at  a  time  the  wire  lay  on  the  ground,  and 
the  poles  rested  by  its  side  or  across  it.  Tele- 
grams sent  by  these  Persian  lines,  I  was  told, 
take  several  days  to  reach  their  destination,  if 
they  ever  do  reach  at  all,  and  are  usually 
entrusted  for  conveyance,  not  to  the  wire,  but 
to  caravan  men  happening  to  travel  in  that 
particular  direction,  or  to  messengers  specially 
despatched  from  one  city  to  the  other. 

Some  two  farsakhs  from  Isfahan  we  went 
through  a  passage  where  the  hills  nearly  meet, 
after  which  we  entered  a  flat  plain,  barren  and 
ugly.  In  the  distance  to  the  south-east  lay  a 
line  of  blackish  trees,  and  another  in  front  of  us 
in  the  direction  we  were  travelling,  due  east. 
Then  we  saw  another  bunch  of  pigeon 
towers. 

Leaving  behind  the  hills  nearer  to  us  to  the 
north-west,  west,  and  south-west,  and  the  more 
distant  and  most  fantastically  shaped  range  to 
the  south,  my  mules  gradually  descend  into  the 
plain.  For  an  angle  of  40'  from  east  to  S.S.E. 
no  hills  are  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  but  there 
is  a  long  range  of  comparatively  low  hills 
encircling  us  from  N.N.W.  to  S.S.E.  and  N.E. 
of  the  observer,  the  highest  points  being  at 
80°  (almost  N.E.Fl).  To  the  north  we  have 
a  long  line  of  kanats. 

VOL.    I  A   A 


354  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Following  the  drunken  row  of  telegraph 
poles  we  arrive  at  Gullahbad  (Gulnabad) — a 
village  in  ruins.  From  this  point  for  some 
distance  the  soil  is  covered  with  a  deposit  of 
salt,  giving  the  appearance  of  a  snow-clad  land- 
scape, in  sharp  contrast  with  the  terrific  heat 
prevailing  at  the  time.  This  road  is  impassable 
during  the  rainy  weather.  As  one  nears  the 
hills  to  the  N.E.  tufts  of  grass  of  an  anemic 
green  cover  the  ground  (altitude  5,250  feet). 

Under  a  scorching  sun  we  reached  Saigsi  (8 
farsakhs  from  Isfahan)  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  put  up  in  the  large  caravanserai 
with  two  rooms  up  stairs  and  ten  down  below 
around  the  courtyard.  The  difference  in  the 
behaviour  of  the  natives  upon  roads  on  which 
Europeans  do  not  frequently  travel  could  be 
detected  at  once  here.  One  met  with  the 
greatest  civility  and  simplicity  of  manner  and, 
above  all,  honesty,  which  one  seldom  finds  where 
European  visitors  are  more  common. 

There  are  few  countries  where  the  facial 
types  vary  more  than  in  Persia.  The  individuals 
of  nearly  each  town,  each  village,  have  peculiar 
characteristics  of  their  own.  At  Saigsi,  for 
instance,  only  32  miles  from  Isfahan,  we  find  an 
absolutely  different  type  of  head,  with  abnor- 
mally large  mouth  and  widely-expanded  nostrils, 
the  eyes  wide  apart,  and  the  brow  overhanging. 
The  latter  may  be  caused  by  the  constant 
brilliant  refraction  of  the  white  soil  in  the 
glare  of  the  sun  (Altitude  of  Saigsi  5,100 
feet). 


XXXV  AN   OPTICAL  DECEPTION  355 

About  four  miles  east  of  Saigsi  and  north  of 
the  track  we  come  across  five  curious  parallel 
lines  of  mud-heaps  or  dunes  stretching  from 
north  to  south.  Each  of  these  heaps  is  precisely 
where  there  is  a  gap  in  the  mountain  range  to 
the  north  of  it,  and  each  has  the  appearance  of 
having  been  gradually  deposited  there  by  a 
current  passing  through  these  gaps  when  the 
whole  of  this  plain  was  the  sea-bottom.  These 
mud  heaps  are  flat-topped  and  vary  from  20  to 
40  feet  in  height,  the  central  row  of  all  being 
the  highest  of  the  series.  This  is  a  grand  place 
for  wonderful  effects  of  mirage  all  round  us. 
To  the  W.  spreads  a  beautiful  lake  in  the 
depression  of  the  plain — as  complete  an  optical 
deception  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive,  for  in 
reality  there  is  no  lake  at  all, 

Water  is  not  at  all  plentiful  here.  One  finds 
a  reservoir  made  for  caravans  along  this  track. 
It  is  a  tank  25  feet  by  10  feet  sunk  deep  into  the 
ground  and  roofed  over  with  a  vault.  The 
water  is  sent  to  it  by  means  of  a  channel  from 
the  small  village  of  Vartan  north  of  it. 

We  gradually  rise  to  5,550  feet  and  again  we 
have  before  us  another  beautiful  effect  of  miraee 
in  the  shape  of  a  magnificent  lake  with  a 
village  and  cluster  of  trees  apparently  suspended 
in  the  air.  My  caravan  man  assures  me  that 
the  village,  which  appears  quite  close  by,  is 
many  miles  off. 

Long  rows  of  kanats^  ancient  and  modern,  to 
the  south-east  warn  us  of  the  approach  of  a 
small  town,  and  on  the  road  plenty  of  skeletons 

A   A   2 


356  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xxxv 

of  camels,  donkeys,  and  mules  may  be  seen. 
Fodder  is  very  scarce  upon  this  track,  and 
many  animals  have  to  die  of  starvation.  Also 
animals  caught  here  during  the  rains  cannot  pro- 
ceed in  the  sinking  soft  ground,  and  eventually 
die. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 

Khupah — Sunken  well — Caravanserai — Night  marching — 
Kudeshk — The  P'ishark  and  Sara  ranges — Lhas — The  pass 
— Whirlwinds — Robbers — Fezahbad— The  dangers  of  a 
telegraph  wire — An  accident — Six  villages — Deposits  of  sand 
and  gravel — Bambis — The  people — Mosquitoes — A  Persian 
house — Weaving  loom — Type  of  natives — Clothing — 
Sayids. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  Khupah  (Altitude  5,920 
feet)  was  reached,  with  its  very  large  and  dirty 
caravanserai  to  the  west,  just  outside  the  town 
wall.  From  the  roof — the  only  clean  part  of 
the  hostelry — one  obtains  a  good  panoramic 
view  of  the  town.  It  is  built  in  a  most  irregular 
shape,  and  is  encircled  by  a  castellated  mud  wall 
with  round  turrets.  There  is  a  humble  dome  of 
a  mosque  rising  somewhat  higher  than  all  the 
other  little  domes  above  eacli  dwelling. 

Feeble  attempts  at  raising  a  bazaar  have  been 
made  on  different  sites  in  the  town,  where  bits  of 
arcades  have  been  erected,  but  there  are  no  signs 
about  the  place  of  a  flourishing  industry  or  trade. 
The  majority  of  houses,  especially  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  city,  are  in  ruins.  The  principal 
thoroughfare  is  picturesque  enough,  and  on  the 
occasion  (jf  my  visit  looked  particularly  attractive 


358  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

to  me,  with  its  huge  trays  of  deUcious  grapes. 
They  were  most  refreshing  to  eat  in  the  terrific 
heat  of  the  day.  One  pecuHarity  of  the  place  is 
that  most  doorways  of  houses  are  sunk — generally 
from  one  to  three  feet — below  the  level  of  the 
street. 

Between  the  caravanserai  and  the  city  is  a 
sunken  well  with  flat  roof  and  four  ventilating 
shafts  to  keep  the  water  cool.  Further  away, 
are  seven  more  buildings — probably  dead-houses 
— and  a  garden.  The  little  range  north  of  the 
city  is  quite  low,  and  has  in  front  of  it  a 
pyramidal  dune — a  similar  deposit  to  those  we 
have  already  noticed  to  the  north-west  in  the 
morning  on  our  march  to  this  place,  but  much 
higher. 

South  of  the  town  many  trees  and  verdant 
gardens  are  visible,  and  to  the  West  the  immense 
stretch  of  flat — some  sixty  miles  of  it  that  we 
had  travelled  over  from  Isfahan. 

For  want  of  a  better  amusement  I  sat  on  the 
roof  to  watch  the  sunset,  while  Sadek  cooked  my 
dinner.  The  nearer  hills,  of  a  bright  cobalt  blue, 
faded  into  a  light  grey  in  the  distance,  the  sky 
shone  in  a  warm  cadmium  yellow,  and  beneath 
stretched  the  plain,  of  a  dark-brown  bluish 
colour,  uninterrupted  for  miles  and  miles,  were 
it  not  for  one  or  two  tumbled-down  huts  in 
the  immediate  foreground,  and  a  long,  snake-like 
track  winding  its  way  across  the  expanse  until  it 
lost  itself  in  the  dim  distance. 

Directly    below,    in     the     courtyard     of    the 
caravanserai,  four  camels  squatted  round  a  cloth 


XXXVI  A  NIGHT  MARCH  359 

on  which  was  served  straw  mixed  with  cotton 
seeds,  that  gave  flavour  to  their  meal.  The 
camels  slowly  ground  their  food,  moving  their 
lower  jaws  sideways  from  right  to  left,  instead 
of  up  and  down  as  is  usual  in  most  other 
animals  ;  and  some  of  the  caravan  men  placidly 
smoked  their  kalians,  while  others  packed  up 
their  bundles  to  make  ready  for  their  departure 
as  soon  as  the  moon  should  rise.  In  another 
corner  of  the  courtyard  my  own  caravan  man 
groomed  the  mules,  and  around  a  big  flame  a 
little  further  off  a  crowd  of  admiring  natives 
gazed  open-mouthed  at  Sadek  boiling  a  chicken 
and  vegetables  for  my  special  benefit. 

We  were  to  make  a  night  march,  as  the  heat 
ot  the  day  was  too  great  to  travel  in.  At  three 
in  the  morning,  yawning  and  stretching  our 
limbs  when  we  were  roused  by  the  charvadar,i 
we  got  on  the  mules  and  made  our  departure. 
The  cold  was  intense,  and  the  wind  blowing 
with  all  its  might  from  the  west.  Six  miles  off 
we  passed  Kamalbek,  then  six  miles  further  the 
large  village  of  Moshkianuh  in  ruins,  with  a  few 
green  trees  near  it. 

The  plain  on  which  we  are  travelling  rises 
gently  up  to  the  village  of  Kudeshk  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain  (Altitude  6,750  feet).  We 
ascend  gradually  between  hills  to  the  north  and 
south  and  find  ourselves  in  another  flat  valley, 
about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  broad  and  one  mile 
and  a  half  long.  (Altitude  7,200  feet.)  We 
are  surrounded  by  hills,  and  find  two  villages, 
^  Cliarvadar — Canivaii   man. 


36o  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

one  to  the  east,  the  other  to  the  west  of  the 
valley.  The  latter  possesses  buildings  with 
masonry  walls  instead  of  the  usual  mud  ones, 
and  also  masonry  enclosures  round  wheat-fields 
and  fruit-tree  groves. 

We  continue  to  rise  until  the  highest  point  of 
the  plain  is  reached,  7,620  feet.  Two  or  three 
smaller  hamlets  are  found  in  the  centre  of  the 
plain. 

A  second  basin  is  found  on  proceeding  east, 
with  here  and  there  miserable  clusters  of  trees  ; 
otherwise  everything  is  as  barren  as  barren  could 
be.  On  the  reddish  hills  the  rocky  portion 
shows  through  at  the  summit  only,  whereas  the 
bases  are  enveloped  in  a  covering  of  sand  and 
salt.  To  the  north  the  Fishark  and  Sara  moun- 
tain range  extends  in  a  general  direction  of 
N.W.  to  S.E.,  and  its  formation  is  quite  interest- 
ing. Due  north  of  us  the  eye  is  attracted  by  a 
peculiar  hill,  a  double  cone,  two  pointed,  and 
much  redder  in  colour  than  the  hills  near  it. 

On  nearing  the  mountains  many  small  villages 
appear.  Yazih  village  has  a  solid  stone  wall 
round  it.  Wheat  is  cultivated  by  the  natives, 
good  water  being  obtainable  here  in  small  but 
limpid  streams.  Then  we  have  the  old  village 
of  Lhas,  now  rejoicing  in  the  new  name  of 
Mazemullahmat,  and  near  it,  Fezahbad,  where  I 
halted. 

I  strolled  in  the  afternoon  a  mile  from  the 
latter  village  to  the  pass,  8,000  feet  above  sea 
level.  Directly  in  front  of  the  pass  (at  110° 
bearings    magnetic)    stands    a    high     peak,    and 


XXXVI  WHIRLWINDS  361 

beyond  it  to  the  right  of  the  observer  (at  140° 
b.m.)  another  and  higher  summit. 

We  leave  behind  to  the  W.N.W.  the  high 
Sara  mountain  range,  no  peaks  of  which,  I 
estimated,  rose  above  10,000  feet.  W.N.W.  (at 
280°  b.m.)  is  a  most  curious  conical  hill,  stand- 
ing isolated  and  very  high  above  the  plain. 

Among  the  most  common  sights  of  these 
parts  are  the  w^hirWinds — the  tourhillons^ — each 
revolving  with  terrific  rapidity  round  its  own 
axis  and  raising  to  the  sky  a  cylindrical  column 
of  dust.  They  further  move  along  the  country 
in  a  spasmodic  manner,  but  never  so  fast  that 
they  cannot  be  avoided.  The  diameter  of  the 
wind  columns  I  observed  by  the  dust  carried 
with  it,  varied  from  3  feet  to  20  feet. 

The  mountains  we  are  travelling  on  are  said  to 
be  somewhat  unsafe,  the  villagers  being  given  to 
attacking  caravans,  and  robber  bands  coming 
here  for  shelter  when  it  becomes  unsafe  for  them 
to  be  on  the  Kashan-Yezd  high  road.  In  fact, 
while  resting  in  the  house  of  Haji-MuUa  Ahmed 
at  Fezahbad,  a  curious  lot  of  men  appeared, 
who,  notwithstanding  the  remonstrances  of  Sadek 
and  Haji,  broke  into  the  house  in  a  most 
boisterous  manner,  demanding  food  of  the  land- 
lord. They  were  armed  with  revolvers  and  old 
Martini  rifles,  and  had  plenty  of  cartridges  about 
their  persons.  They  seemed  quite  taken  aback  to 
find  a  European  inside  the  room.  They  changed 
their  attitude  at  once,  and  became  quite  polite. 

I    entertained    them    to    tea,    of   which    they 
drank     gallons.       1     cannot     say     that      I      was 


362  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

particularly  charmed  with  their  faces,  but  their 
manner  was  certainly  most  courteous.  They 
showed  me  their  rifles — English  Martinis  with 
additional  gold  ornamentations  of  lion  and  sun, 
such  as  one  sees  in  thousands  all  over  Persia.  I 
asked  them  where  they  got  them  from.  They 
said  they  came  from  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Haji  Mulla  Ahmed,  the  founder  of  the  village, 
was  a  fine  old  fellow  with  a  kindly  face,  eyes 
shining  like  beads  under  an  overhanging  brow, 
and  a  crimson  beard  dyed  with  henna.  He 
appeared  rather  sulky  at  this  unwonted  visit, 
and  more  sulky  still  later  when  the  visitors  left 
me  and  he  had  to  provide  food  for  them.  He 
said  that  the  robbers  frequently  called  upon  him, 
and  were  a  great  drain  on  his  supplies. 

When  we  left  at  1.45  a.m.  to  go  across  the 
pass,  he  advised  Sadek  and  myself  to  load  our 
rifles  and  keep  a  sharp  look-out.  As  I  had 
already  measured  the  altitude  of  the  pass  in  the 
afternoon  I  had  no  particular  object  in  keeping 
awake,  so  I  slung  the  rifle  to  my  saddle  and 
dozed  oflF  on  my  mule  as  we  were  slowly  wind- 
ing our  way  up  to  the  summit.  The  long  night 
marches  were  so  dreary  and  the  sound  of  the 
mules'  bells  so  monotonous  that  it  was  most 
difficult  to  keep  awake.  One  gradually  learns  to 
balance  one's  self  quite  well  on  the  saddle  while 
asleep,  and  it  does  shorten  the  long  hours  of 
the  night  very  considerably.  Occasionally  one 
wakes  up  abruptly  with  a  jolt,  and  one  fancies  that 
one  is  just  about  to  tumble  over,  but  although  I 
suppose  I  must  have  ridden   in  my  life  hundreds 


XXXVI  AN  ACCIDENT  363 

of  miles  while  asleep  on  the  saddle,  I  have  never 
once  had  a  fall  in  the  natural  course  of  affairs.  The 
animals,  too,  are  generally  so  intelligent  that 
they  do  for  one  the  balancing  required  and 
manage  to  keep  under  the  rider. 

On  that  particular  night  I  w^as  extremely 
sleepy.  I  opened  my  eyes  for  a  second  when  we 
reached  the  pass  and  began  to  descend  on  the 
other  side,  but  sleepiness  overcame  me  again. 
I  was  riding  the  first  mule  in  the  caravan.  Un- 
expectedly I  received  a  fearful  blow  in  the  face, 
and  I  was  very  nearly  torn  off  the  saddle. 
There  was  a  curious  metallic  buzzing  resounding 
in  the  air,  and  before  I  had  time  to  warn  those 
that  came  after,  Sadek,  who  came  next,  was 
knocked  down,  and  the  mules,  frightened  at  this 
unusual  occurrence,  stampeded  down  the  steep 
incline.  It  was  the  telegraph  wire  hanging  loose 
right  across  the  road  that  had  caused  the  accident. 
The  road  was  in  zig-zag,  and  was  crossed  several 
times  by  the  wire  which  was  laid  more  or  less  in 
a  straight  line.  But  this,  of  course,  I  did  not 
know,  so  a  few  minutes  later,  before  we  had 
time  to  bring  the  runaway  mules  to  a  stop,  the 
wire,  unseen,  was  again  met  with  a  foot  or  so 
above  the  ground.  It  caught  the  mules  on  the 
legs,  and  as  they  were  tied  to  one  another,  and 
were  carried  on  by  the  impetus  of  the  pace  at 
which  we  were  going,  all  the  animals  tumbled 
down  one  on  the  top  of  the  other  in  a  heap. 
The  packs  got  mercilessly  undone,  and  it  took 
us  the  best  part  of  an  hour  to  disentangle  all  and 
get  things  straight  again. 


364  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  cold  was  bitter.  Some  two  miles  East  of 
the  pass  there  were  two  roads,  one  leading  to 
Nain,  the  other  to  Nao  Gombes.  We  took  the 
latter  and  shorter  route,  and  with  some  sense  of 
relief  now  we  left  the  telegraph  line,  which 
proceeds  to  Nain. 

On  the  plateau  east  of  the  pass,  we  found  six 
small  villages,  the  most  eastern — Eshratawat 
(Ishratabad) — being  the  largest  (Altitude  6,800 
ft.).  When  the  sun  was  about  to  rise  we  more 
clearly  distinguished  a  grey,  sombre,  mountainous 
mass  to  the  east,  sharply  indented  at  its  summit, 
like  the  teeth  of  a  gigantic  saw,  and  ending 
abruptly  on  the  northern  terminus. 

We  had  come  between  mountains,  and  some 
twelve  miles  from  Fezahbad  we  reached  Kudarz 
(xAltitude  6,580  ft.),  a  village  situated  at  the  foot 
of  the  range  we  had  crossed.  As  the  sun  peeped 
above  the  mountains  close  by  to  the  east  a  large 
plain  disclosed  itself  before  the  observer.  A  long 
mountain  range,  bluish  and  indistinct,  could  just 
be  perceived  in  the  distance,  bounding  the  plain 
to  the  north.  Some  low,  semi-spherical  and  a 
few  conical  hills,  and  also  a  somewhat  higher 
and  rugged  rocky  elevation,  were  found  on  enter- 
ing the  plain  from  the  west. 

Oskhoiun  village  lies  in  the  plain  16  miles 
from  Fezahbad.  At  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
on  one's  right  one  notices  a  curious  deposit  of 
sand  and  gravel,  cushion  shaped,  rising  in  a 
gentle  incline  up  the  mountain  side  to  a  height 
of  150  feet.  It  would  be  interesting  to  find  out 
exactly  how  these   accumulations   have  formed, 


XXXVI 


BAMBIS  365 


and    whether    the  wind   or  water    or    both    are 
responsible  for  them. 

On  arriving  at  Bambis  (Altitude  5,660  ft.) 
Sadek  was  in  a  great  state  of  mind  to  find  a 
suitable  house  where  we  could  put  up,  as  there 
were  no  caravanserais.  Several  of  the  principal 
people  in  the  town  offered  me  their  own  houses, 
and  eventually,  after  careful  inspection,  I  accepted 
the  cleanest. 

Of  course,  in  small,  out-of-the-way  villages  no 
great  luxury  could  be  expected  even  in  dwellings 
of  well-to-do  people,  but  after  entering  by  a  miser- 
able door  and  going  through  a  filthy  passage,  one 
came  to  a  nice  little  court  with  an  ornamental 
tank  of  somewhat  fetid  water.  Swarms  of  mos- 
quitoes rose  from  the  floating  leaves  of  the  water 
plants  as  soon  as  we  appeared  and  gave  us  a  very 
warm  reception.  In  a  few  seconds  we  were 
stung  all  over. 

The  women  folks  were  made  to  stampede  to 
the  upper  storey  on  our  arrival,  where  they  re- 
mained concealed  while  we  stayed  in  the  house, 
and  the  younger  male  members  of  the  family 
hastily  removed  all  the  bedding  and  personal 
belongings  from  the  principal  room,  which  I 
was  to  occupy.  Clouds  of  dust  were  raised 
when  an  attempt  was  made  to  sweep  the  dried 
mud  floor.  Out  of  the  windows  of  the  upper 
storey  the  women  flung  handsome  carpets,  which 
Sadek  duly  spread  upon  the  floor. 

The  room  was  a  very  nice  one,  plastered  all 
over  and  painted  white,  enriched  with  adhering 
dried  leaves   of  red  roses  forming  a  design  upon 


366  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

the  ceiling.  There  were  nine  receptacles  in  the 
walls,  and  four  more  in  the  sides  of  the  chimney 
piece.  Next  to  this  room  was  another  similar 
one,  and  opposite  in  the  courtyard  a  kind  o 
alcove  was  used  as  a  kitchen.  It  had  a  raised 
part  of  mud  bricks  some  three  feet  high  and 
about  as  broad,  on  which  was  fixed  the  weaving 
loom  that  stretched  right  across  the  court  when 
in  use.  A  hole  was  made  in  the  raised  portion, 
in  which  the  weaver  sat  when  at  work,  so  as 
to  keep  the  legs  under  the  loom. 

The  loom  is  simple  enough,  the  two  sets  ot 
long  horizontal  threads  being  kept  at  high 
tension  by  an  iron  bar  fixed  into  the  cylindrical 
wooden  rollers,  round  which  the  threads  are 
rolled.  There  is  then  a  vertical  arrangement  for 
moving  the  long  horizontal  sets  of  threads 
alternately  up  and  down  by  means  of  pedals,  a 
cross  thread  being  passed  between  them  with  a 
spool,  and  beaten  home  each  time  with  the  large 
comb  suspended  in  a  vertical  position.  The 
threads  are  kept  in  position  by  two  additional 
combs  which  represent  the  width  of  the  cloth, 
and  in  which  each  horizontal  thread  is  kept 
firm  in  its  central  position  by  a  clever  device  of 
inverted  loops  between  which  it  is  passed  and 
clenched  tight.  The  cloth  is  rolled  round  a 
wooden  cylinder.  It  is  extremely  strong  and 
durable.    Almost  each  house  has  a  weaving  loom. 

On  one  side  of  the  court  was  a  recess  in  the 
wall  for  valuables.  The  padlock  was  closed  by 
means  of  a  screw.  By  the  side  of  the  kitchen 
one  found  the  lumber  and  refuse  room,  and  there 


il^--^,  i 


XXXVI        HANDSOME  INHABITANTS  367 

were  corresponding  arrangements  on  the  floor 
above.  Unlike  other  Persian  houses  this  was 
Hghted  by  windows  with  neat  woodwork,  instead 
of  by  the  usual  skylight  hole  in  the  dome  of  the 
room. 

The  natives  at  this  village  were  very  handsome. 
There  was  a  touch  of  the  Afghan  type  in  the  men, 
and  the  women  had  fine  faces  with  magnificent 
eyes.  One  found  firm  mouths  with  well-cut  and 
properly  developed  lips,  in  contrast  to  the  weak, 
drooping  mouths  of  the  people  one  had  met  in 
the  western  cities  ;  and  the  noses  were  finely 
chiselled,  with  well-defined  nostrils.  There  was 
no  unsteadiness  in  the  eyes,  so  common  to  the 
Persians  of  the  north-west, — and  these  fellows 
consequently  presented  quite  an  honest  appear- 
ance, while  the  overhanging  brow  added  a  look 
of  pensiveness.  The  skull  was  peculiarly  formed, 
slanting  upwards  considerably  from  the  forehead 
to  an  abnormal  height,  and  giving  the  cranium 
an  elongated  shape.  The  ears,  too,  generally 
malformed  or  under-developed  in  most  Persians, 
were  better  shaped  in  these  people,  although  by 
no  means  perfect.  They,  nevertheless,  showed  a 
certain  refinement  of  blood  and  race. 

In  the  matter  of  men's  clothing  it  was  gratify- 
ing to  find  the  ugly  pleated  frockcoats  discarded 
— or,  rather,  never  adopted — and  long  picturesque 
shirts  and  ample  trousers  worn  instead,  held 
together  by  a  kamarband.  Over  all  was  thrown 
a  brown  burnous,  not  unlike  that  of  the  Bedouins, 
and  the  head  was  wound  in  an  ample  turban 
of  the  Hindoo  pattern. 


368         ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xxxvi 

Children  wore  short  coats  ornamented  with 
embroidery  and  shells  at  the  back  and  pretty 
silver  buttons  in  front.  Their  little  caps,  too, 
were  embellished  with  shells,  beads,  or  gold 
braidino-. 

o 

Nearly  all  male  natives,  old  and  young, 
suffered  from  complaints  of  the  eyes,  but  not  so 
the  women, — probably  because  they  spent  most 
of  the  time  in  the  house  and  did  not  expose 
themselves  to  the  glare  of  the  sun  and  salty 
dust,  which  seemed  to  be  the  principal  cause  of 
severe  inflammation  of  the  eyes. 

Bambis  village  was  greatly  dependent  upon 
Isfahan  for  its  provisions,  and  therefore  every- 
thing was  very  dear.  Excellent  vegetables, 
sha/ga,  sardek,  cfmrconda^  and  pomegranates  were 
nevertheless  grown,  by  means  of  a  most  elaborate 
and  ingenious  way  of  irrigation,  but  the  water 
was  very  brackish  and  dirty.  Felt  filters  were 
occasionally  used  by  the  natives  for  purifying  the 
drinking  water. 

There  were  a  number  of  Sayids  living  at  Bam- 
bis, who  looked  picturesque  in  their  handsome 
green  turbans  ;  they  were  men  of  a  splendid 
physique,  very  virile,  simple  in  manner,  serious 
and  dignified,  and  were  held  in  much  respect  by 
their  fellow  villagers. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII 

Bambis — The  Kashan-Yczd  high  road — The  Kcvir  plain — 
Minerals — Chanoh — Sand  deposits — Sherawat — Kanats — 
Agdah — Stone  cairns — Kiafteh — An  isolated  mount — A 
long  sand  bar — A  forsaken  village — Picturesque  Biddeh — 
Handsome  caravanserai  at  Meiboh — Rare  baths — Shamsi — 
Sand-hills — Hodjatabad — Fuel — A  "  tower  of  silence" — A 
split  camel — 'Thousands  of  borings  for  water — A  four- 
towered  well. 

We  left  Bambis  at  ten  o'clock  on  Sunday- 
evening  and  travelled  on  a  flat  plain  the  whole 
night.  One  village  (Arakan)  was  passed,  and 
eventually  we  entered  the  Teheran-Kashan-Yezd 
high  road  which  we  struck  at  Nao  Gombes. 
Here  there  were  a  Chappar  Khana  and  an 
ancient  Caravanserai — the  latter  said  to  be  of  the 
time  of  Shah  Abbas — but  we  did  not  stop,  and 
continued  our  journey  along  a  broad,  immense 
stretch  of  flat  country  consisting  of  sand  and 
gravel. 

jMy  men  were  fast  asleep  on  their  mules,  but 
the  animals  seemed  to  know  tlieir  way  well,  as 
they  had  been  on  this  road  many  times  before. 
The  night  was  extremely  cold.  We  were  now 
at  an  altitude  of  4,240  feet  in  what  is  called  tlie 
"  Kevir,"  a  small  salt  desert  plain,  enclosed  to 
the  south-west  of  the  track  l)y  tlie  south-easterly 

VOL.     I  B     B 


370  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

continuation  of  the  Sara  and  Keble  range  ;  to 
the  north-east  by  the  Mehradji,  Turkemani,  and 
Duldul  mountains  ;  and  to  the  north  by  the 
Aparek  and  Abiane  mountains. 

During  the  rainy  weather  the  drainage  of  the 
latter  two  ranges  is  carried  in  large  volumes  into 
the  plain  between  them,  and  eventually  into  the 
Kevir,  in  which  it  loses  itself.  To  the  south-east 
the  Ardakan  mountains  form  a  barrier,  having, 
however,  a  gap  between  them  and  the  Andjile 
mountains,  through  which  the  road  crosses  in  a 
south-easterly  direction. 

Antimony  is  found  in  the  Mehradji  mountains, 
and  copper,  lead  (in  several  localities),  nickel 
and  antimony  in  the  Anarek  region.  Silver  is 
said  to  have  been  found  in  the  Andjile.  To  the 
north-east,  almost  in  the  middle  of  the  Kevir, 
stands  the  isolated  high  mountain  of  Siakuh. 

Thirty-six  miles  from  Bambis  we  reached 
Chanoh,  a  most  desolate  place,  with  a  rest-house 
in  ruins  and  a  couple  of  suspicious-looking  wells. 
We  arrived  here  at  eight  in  the  morning,  after 
having  travelled  since  ten  o'clock  the  previous 
evening,  but  we  only  allowed  ourselves  and  our 
mules  four  hours'  rest  for  breakfast,  and  we  were 
again  in  the  saddle  at  noon. 

There  is  nothing  to  interest  the  traveller  on 
this  part  of  the  road  except  an  occasional  passing 
caravan,  and  the  scenery  is  dreary  beyond  words. 
Long,  long  stretches  of  flat,  uninteresting  sand 
and  gravel,  or  sand  alone  in  places.  On  nearing 
the  spot  where  the  track  passes  between  the 
Andjile  and  Ardakan  mountains    we    find    sand 


XXXVII        DISEMBOWELLED  EARTH  371 

deposits  stretching  out  for  nearly  two  miles  from 
the  mountain  ranges  to  the  south-west  and  south. 

Shehrawat  (Shehrabad)  village  differs  from 
most  we  have  seen  in  the  shape  of  its  few  roofs, 
which  are  semi-cylindrical,  like  a  vault,  and  not 
semi-spherical.  A  mud  tower  rises  above  them, 
and  there  are  a  few  fields  and  some  fruit-trees 
near  the  habitations. 

About  a  mile  further,  more  sand  dunes  are  to 
be  found,  and  a  long  row  of  kanats  carrying 
water  to  the  village  of  Nasirabad,  half  a  mile 
east  of  the  track.  Further  on  we  come  upon 
an  open  canal,  and  we  can  perceive  a  village 
about  two  miles  distant,  also  to  the  east  of  the 
track. 

Just  before  arriving  at  Agdah  the  earth  has 
positively  been  disembowelled  in  search  of  water, 
so  numerous  are  the  kanats  of  all  sizes  and 
depths  among  which  we  wind  our  way.  The 
large  village  of  Agdah  itself  stands  on  a  promin- 
ence (4,080  ft.)  against  a  background  of  moun- 
tains, and  is  embellished  with  a  great  many 
orchards  tidily  walled  round.  It  is  a  famous 
place  for  pomegranates,  which  are  really  delicious. 
As  usual  a  number  of  ruined  houses  surround 
those  still  standing,  and  as  we  skirt  the  village 
wall  over  30  feet  high  we  observe  some  pictur- 
esque high  round  towers. 

The  telegraph  wire  (which  we  had  met  again 
at  Nao  Gombes)  was  here  quite  an  amusing 
sight.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  village  it 
was  highly  decorated  with  rags  of  all  colours, 
and  with  stones  tied  to  long  strings  which,  when 

I)    15     2 


372  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

thrown  up,  wind  themselves  round  and  remain 
entangled  in  the  wire. 

There  were  some  300  habitations  in  Agdah, 
the  principal  one  with  a  large  quadrangular 
tower,  being  that  of  the  Governor  ;  but  both  the 
Chappar  khana  and  the  caravanserai  were  the 
filthiest  we  had  so  far  encountered.  A  number 
of  Sayids  lived  here. 

We  halted  at  four  in  the  afternoon  on  Monday, 
October  19th.  The  mules  were  so  tired  that  I 
decided  to  give  them  twelve  hours'  rest.  It  may 
be  noticed  that  we  had  travelled  from  ten  o'clock 
the  previous  evening  until  four  in  the  afternoon — 
eighteen  hours — v/ith  only  four  hours'  rest, — quite 
good  going  for  caravan  marching.  The  mules 
were  excellent. 

At  4  A.M.  on  the  Tuesday  we  rode  out  of  the 
caravanserai,  and  still  travelled  south-east  on  a 
flat  gravel  plain,  v/ith  the  high  Ardakan  Moun- 
tains to  the  east.  Fourteen  miles  or  so  from 
Agdah  the  country  became  undulating  with 
large  pebble  stones  washed  down  from  the  moun- 
taiii-oides.  Cairns  of  stone  had  been  erected  on 
the  first  hillock  we  came  to  near  the  road.  We 
passed  two  villages,  one  on  the  track,  the  other 
about  a  mile  north  of  it,  and  near  this  latter  two 
or  three  smaller  hamlets  were  situated. 

Sixteen  miles  from  Agdah  we  halted  for  an 
hour  or  so  at  the  village  of  Kiafteh  (Chaftah)  — 
altitude  3,960  feet — with  its  round  tower  and 
the  Mosque  of  Semur-ed-din  one  mile  north  of 
it.  Here  there  was  a  Chappar  khana.  The 
labourers    wore    a    short    blue    shirt    and    ample 


XXXVII  BEAUTIFUL  EFFECTS  373 

trousers,  with  white  turban  and  white  shoes. 
Having  partaken  of  a  hearty  breakfast  we  were 
off  agai.'i  on  the  road  in  the  broiling  sun  at 
10.30  A.M.  Beautiful  effects  of  mirage  were 
before  us  like  splendid  lakes,  with  the  moun- 
tains reflected  into  them,  and  little  islands. 

As  we  go  through  the  gap  in  the  mountains 
that  are  now  to  the  south-west  and  north-east 
of  us  the  plain  narrows  to  a  width  of  some  four 
miles,  and  the  direction  of  the  track  is  east- 
south-east.  To  the  south-east  the  hillocks  of 
a  low  range  stretch  as  far  as  the  mountains 
on  the  south-west,  and  several  parallel  ranges  lie 
on  the  north-east.  South,  very  far  off,  is  the 
high  Shirkuh  mountain. 

Eight  miles  from  Kiafteh  we  cross  over  the 
low  hill  range  by  a  pass  (4,090  ft.)  about 
100  feet  above  the  plain  (3,990  ft.).  There  is 
a  mournful  look  about  the  soil  of  black  sand, 
and  also  about  the  gloomy  shingle  hill  range 
extending  from  the  north-east  to  the  south-west. 
The  black  underlying  rock  where  exposed  to  the 
air  shows  numberless  holes  corroded  in  it,  as  by 
the  action  of  moving  salt  water.  An  inexj^lic- 
able  isolated  hill  stands  in  the  c^rntre  of  the  valley, 
which  here  is  not  perfectly  flat,  but  in  a  gentle 
incline,  higher  at  its  south-western  extremity 
than  at  its  north-eastern  edge. 

A  formation  of  mud  dunes  similar  lO  those  we 
had  encountered  near  Saigsi  is  here  to  be  noticed, 
this  time,  however,  not  directly  in  front  of  each 
gap  in  the  mountain  range,  but  opposite  them 
near  th.-   range   in    ■Vr)-t,   that    forms   a   kind    of 


374  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

bay.  These  dunes  were  probably  caused  by  the 
deposit  of  sand  and  gravel  left  by  a  current  that 
met  the  barrier  of  mountains  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bay. 

On  crossing  the  hill  range  some  eighteen  miles 
from  Kiafteh,  we  come  across  a  sand-bar  which 
stretches  in  a  semi-circle  half  way  across  the 
valley,  where  it  then  suddenly  turns  south-east. 
It  is  about  80  feet  high.  To  all  appearance  the 
sand  deposited  upon  this  bar  seems  to  have 
travelled  in  a  direction  from  north  north-east 
to  south  south-west.  A  mile  further  it  meets 
another  sand  dune,  stretching  in  a  general 
direction  of  south-west  to  north-east.  Where 
the  higher  dune  comes  to  an  end  half-way 
across  the  valley  we  find  a  village,  having  the 
usual  quadrangular  mud  enclosure  with  towers, 
an  abandoned  caravanserai  fast  tumbling  down, 
and  a  few  domed  mud  hovels.  The  larger  and 
better  preserved  village  of  Bafru,  one  mile  to  the 
east  of  the  track,  is  well  surrounded  by  a  long 
expanse  of  verdant  trees.  South  of  it  is  the 
other  flourishing  settlement  of  Deawat  (Deabad). 

The  abandoned  village  of  Assiabo  Gordoneh, 
novv/-  in  ruins,  tells  us  a  sad  story.  The  village  at 
one  time  evidently  ran  short  of  water.  Hundreds 
of  borings  can  be  seen  all  round  it  in  all  directions, 
but  they  must  have  been  of  no  avail.  The  place 
had  to  be  forsaken. 

The  sand  dune  is  here  80  feet  high.  The 
space  between  these  tv»^o  sand  dunes — plateau- 
like— is  nicely  cultivated  in  patches  where  some 
water  has  been  found. 


XXXVII  A  WEIRD  PLACE 


375 


We  arrived  in  the  evening  at  Biddeh,  a  very 
large  and  most  weird  place,  with  habitations 
partly  cut  into  the  high  mud  banks.  The  houses 
were  several  storeys  high.  The  greater  number 
of  buildings,  now  in  ruins,  show  evidence  of  the 
former  importance  of  this  place  and  the  wonder- 
ful ancient  aqueducts  with  the  water  carried  over 
a  high  bridge  from  one  side  of  a  ravine  to  the 
other  are  of  great  interest.  This  must  have  been 
a  prosperous  place  at  one  time.  The  whitish 
clay  soil  has  been  quaintly  corroded  by  the  action 
of  water,  and  one  finds  curious  grottoes  and  deep, 
contorted,  natural  channels.  A  mosque  and 
several  impressive  buildings — the  adjective  only 
applies  when  you  do  not  get  too  near  them — 
stand  high  up  against  the  cliff  side.  The 
whole  place  is  quite  picturesque. 

The  mules  go  along  a  narrow  lane  between 
walled  fields,  and  then  by  a  steepish  ascent 
among  ruined  houses  and  patches  of  cultivation 
we  reach  the  summit  of  the  clay  dune,  on  which 
the  newer  village  of  Meiboh  (Maibut) — 3,940  feet 
— is  situated. 

There  is  a  most  beautiful  (for  Persia)  caravan- 
serai here  with  a  delightful  domed  tank  of  clear 
spring  water,  in  which  I  then  and  there  took  a 
delicious  bath,  much  to  the  horror  of  the 
caravanserai  proprietor  who  assured  me — when 
it  was  too  late — that  the  tank  was  no  hammain  or 
bath,  but  was  water  for  drinking  purposes.  His 
horror  turned  into  white  rage  when,  moreover, 
he  declared  that  my  soap,  which  I  had  used 
freely,    would    kill    all    the    fish    which    he    had 


376  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

carefully  nursed  for  years  in  the  tank.  We 
spent  most  of  the  evening  in  watching  the 
state  of  their  health,  and  eventually  it  was 
with  some  relief  that  we  perceived  all  the 
soap  float  away  and  the  water  again  become 
as  clear  as  crystal.  To  the  evident  discomfiture 
of  the  caravanserai  man,  when  we  paid  the 
last  visit  to  the  tank  at  4  a.m.  just  previous 
to  my  departure,  no  deaths  were  to  be  regis- 
tered in  the  tank,  and  therefore  no  heavy 
damages   to  pay. 

There  is  nothing  one  misses  more  than  baths 
while  travelling  in  central  and  eastern  Persia. 
There  is  generally  hardly  sufficient  water  to 
drink  at  the  various  stages,  and  it  is  usually  so 
slimy  and  bad  that,  although  one  does  not  mind 
drinking  it,  because  one  has  to,  one  really  would 
not  dream  of  bathing  or  washing  in  it  !  Hence 
my  anxiety  not  to  lose  my  chance  of  a  good 
plunge  at  Meiboh. 

On  leaving  Meiboh  at  4  a.m.  we  passed  for  a 
considerable  distance  through  land  under  cultiva- 
tion, the  crop  being  principally  wheat.  A  large 
flour-mill  was  in  course  of  construction  at 
Meiboh.  After  that  we  were  again  travelling 
on  a  sandy  plain,  with  thousands  of  borings  for 
water  on  all  sides,  and  were  advancing  mainly  to 
the  south-west  towards  the  mountains.  We 
continued  thus  for  some  twelve  miles  as  far  as 
Shamsi,  another  large  village  with  much  cultiva- 
tion around  it.  After  that,  there  were  sand  and 
stones  under  our  mules'  hoofs,  and  a  broiling  sun 
over  our  heads.      On  both   sides    the   track  was 


XXXVII    A  HANDSOME  CARAVANSERAI       377 

screened  by  mountains  and  by  a  low  hill  range  to 
the  north-east. 

About  eight  miles  from  Shamsi  we  entered  a 
region  of  sand  hills,  the  sand  accumulations — at 
least,  judging  by  the  formation  of  the  hills — 
showing  the  movement  of  the  sand  to  have  been 
from  west  to  east.  This  fact  was  rather  curious 
and  contrasted  with  nearly  all  the  other  sand 
accumulations  which  we  found  later  in  eastern 
Persia,  where  the  sand  moved  mostly  in  a  south- 
westerly direction.  No  doubt  the  direction  of 
the  wind  was  here  greatly  influenced  and  made  to 
deviate  by  the  barriers  of  mountains  so  close  at 
hand. 

There  were  numerous  villages,  large  and  small, 
on  both  sides  of  the  track.  Hodjatabad,  our  last 
halt  before  reaching  Yezd,  only  sixteen  miles 
further,  had  a  handsome  caravanserai,  the  porch 
of  which  was  vaulted  over  the  high  road.  It  was 
comparatively  clean,  and  had  spacious  stabling 
for  animals.  Delicious  grapes  were  to  be  ob- 
tained here,  and  much  of  the  country  had  been 
cleared  of  the  sand  deposit  and  its  fertile  soil 
cultivated. 

Fuel  was  very  expensive  in  Persia.  At  the  en- 
trance of  nearly  every  caravanserai  was  displayed 
a  large  clumsy  wooden  scale,  upon  which  wood 
was  weighed  for  sale  to  travellers,  and  also,  of 
course,  barley  and  fodder  for  one's  animals.  The 
weights  were  generally  round  stones  of  various 
sizes. 

Jaffarabad,  a  very  large  and  prosperous  place, 
stood  about  one    mile   to  the   north-west  of   the 


378  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

caravanserai,  and  had  vegetation  and  many  trees 
near  it  ;  this  was  also  the  case  with  the  other 
village  of  Medjamed,  which  had  innumerable 
fields  round  it. 

Firuzabad  came  next  as  we  proceeded  towards 
Yezd,  and  then,  after  progressing  very  slowly, — 
we  sank  deep  in  sand  for  several  miles — we  per- 
ceived upon  a  rugged  hill  a  large  round  white 
'*  tower  of  silence,"  which  had  been  erected 
there  by  the  Guebres  or  (Parsees)  for  the  dis- 
posal of  their  dead.  We  skirted  the  mud  wall 
of  Elawad — where  the  women's  dress  was  in 
shape  not  unlike  that  of  Turkish  women,  and 
consisted  of  ample,  highly-coloured  trousers  and 
short  zouave  jacket.    The  men  resembled  Afghans. 

I  here  came  across  the  first  running  camel  I 
had  seen  in  Persia,  and  on  it  was  mounted  a 
picturesque  rider,  who  had  slung  to  his  saddle  a 
sword,  a  gun,  and  two  pistols,  while  round  his 
waistband  a  dagger,  a  powder-flask,  bullet  pouch, 
cap  carrier,  and  various  such  other  warlike  im- 
plements hung  gracefully  in  the  bright  light  of 
the  sun.  A  few  yards  further  we  came  upon  a 
ghastly  sight — a  split  camel.  The  poor  obstinate 
beast  had  refused  to  cross  a  narrow  stream  by 
the  bridge,  and  had  got  instead  on  the  slippery 
mud  near  the  water  edge.  His  long  clumsy 
hind-legs  had  slipped  with  a  sudden  ecart  that 
had  torn  his  body  ripped  open.  The  camel  was 
being  killed  as  we  passed,  and  its  piercing  cries 
and  moans  were  too  pitiful  for  words. 

The  mountain  on  which   the  huge  tower   of 
silence  has  been  erected — by  permission  of  Zil- 


XXXVII       THE  SOUL  OF  THE  DEAD  379 

es-Sultan,  I  was  told — is  quadrangular  with  a  long, 
narrow,  flat-topped  platform  on  the  summit. 
The  best  view  of  it  is  obtained  from  the  south. 
Sadek  told  me  in  all  seriousness  from  information 
received  from  the  natives,  that  the  bodies  are 
placed  in  these  towers  in  a  sitting  position  with 
a  stick  under  the  chin  to  support  them  erect. 
When  crows  come  in  swarms  to  pick  away  at 
the  body,  if  the  right  eye  is  plucked  out  first 
by  a  plundering  bird,  it  is  said  to  be  a  sure  sign 
that  the  ex-soul  of  the  body  will  go  to  heaven. 
If  the  left  eye  is  picked  at  first,  then  a  warmer 
climate  is  in  store  for  the  soul  of  the  dead. 

After  leaving  behind  the  Guebre  tower  we 
come  again  upon  thousands  of  borings  for  water, 
and  ancient  kanats,  now  dry  and  unused.  The 
country  grows  less  sandy  about  eight  miles  from 
Yezd,  and  we  have  now  gradually  ascended  some 
320  feet  from  the  village  of  Meiboh  (Maibut) 
to  an  altitude  of  4,230  feet.  Here  we  altogether 
miss  the  flourishing  cultivation  which  lined  the 
track  as  far  as  the  Guebre  tower,  and  cannot 
detect  a  single  blade  of  grass  or  natural  vegeta- 
tion of  any  kind  on  any  side.  There  are  high 
mountains  to  the  south-west  and  east. 

On  the  right  (west)  side  of  the  track,  eight 
miles  from  Yezd,  is  the  neat  mud  wall  of  Nus- 
seratabad,  with  a  few  trees  peeping  above  it,  but  to 
the  left  of  us  all  is  barren,  and  we  toddled  along 
on  grey,  clayish  sand. 

Half-way  between  Nusseratabad  and  Yezd  a 
four-towered  well  is  to  be  found,  and  a  quarter 
of  a    mile   further  the    Mazerch    Sadrih    vilhigc, 


38o         ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS     ch.  xxxvii 

one  and  a-half  farsakhs  from  Yezd.  The  mules 
sank  deep  in  the  fine  sand.  There  were  a  good 
many  Guebres  about,  mostly  employed  in  carry- 
ing manure  on  donkeys.  One  of  them,  who  was 
iust  returning  from  one  of  these  erninds,  addressed 
me,  much  to  my  surprise,  in  Hindustani,  which 
he  spoke  quite  fluently.  He  told  me  that  he 
had  travelled  all  over  India,  and  was  about  to 
start  again  for  Bombay. 

Some  '^  badjir'' — high  ventilating  shafts — and 
a  minaret  or  two  tell  us  that  we  are  approaching 
the  town  of  Yezd — the  ancient  city  of  the  Par- 
sees — and  soon  after  we  enter  the  large  suburb 
of  Mardavoh,  with  its  dome  and  graceful  tower. 

A  track  in  an  almost  direct  line,  and  shorter 
than  the  one  I  had  followed,  exists  between 
Isfahan  and  Yezd.  It  passes  south  of  the 
Gao  Khanah  (Salt  Lake)  to  the  south-east  of 
Isfahan. 


i.t;l 


■I -A  I . 


Halting  at  a  Caravanskrai. 


'V 


f^^^^^^r^ 


A  SiKi-.Ei    IN   \'\:/A),  siiowiN(;   Hn.ii   Artf/'/rv  OK  \'i:m  ii.AriN<;  Sii\ir>. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII 

Yezd  —  Water  supply  —  Climate  —  Cultivation  —  Products — 
Exports  and  imports — Population — Trade — Officials — 
Education — Persian  children — Public  schools — The  Mushir 
school — The  Parsee  school — C.M.S.  mission  school — The 
medical  mission— The  hospital — Christianizing  difficult — 
European  ladies  in  Persia — Tolerance  of  race  religions. 

Yezd  is  the  most  central  city  of  Persia,  but 
from  a  pictorial  point  of  view  the  least  interesting 
city  in  the  Shah's  empire.  There  are  a  great 
many  mosques — it  is  said  about  fifty — but  none 
very  beautiful.  The  streets  are  narrow  and 
tortuous,  with  high  walls  on  either  side  and 
nothing  particularly  attractive  about  them. 
Curious  narrow  arches  are  frequently  to  be 
noticed  overhead  in  the  streets,  and  it  is  sup- 
posed that  they  are  to  support  the  side  walls 
against  collapse. 

There  is  not,  at  least  I  could  not  find,  a  single 
building  of  note  in  the  city  except  the  principal 
and  very  ancient  mosque, — a  building  in  the  last 
degree  of  decay,  but  which  must  have  formerly 
been  ad(jrned  with  a  handsome  frontage.  There 
is  a  very  extensive  but  tumbling-down  wall 
around  tlic  city,  and  a  wide  moat,  reminding 
one   of  a   oiice  strongly   fortified   place. 


382  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

To-day  the  greater  portion  of  Yezd  is  in  ruins. 
The  water  supply  is  unfortunately  very  defective 
and  irregular.  There  are  no  perennial  streams  of 
any  importance,  and  all  the  irrigation  works  are 
dependent  on  artificial  subterranean  canals  and 
kanats,  and  these  in  their  turn  are  mostly  subject 
to  the  rain  and  snow  fall  on  the  hills  surrounding 
Yezd.  Unluckily,  the  rains  are  now  neither 
frequent  nor  abundant,  and  the  land  has  in  con- 
sequence been  suffering  severely  from  want  of 
water.  Snow  falls  in  winter  and  to  a  great 
extent  feeds  the  whole  water  supply  of  Yezd  and 
its  neighbourhood.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  more  than  three-quarters  of  the  province  of 
Yezd  is  barren  land,  cultivation  being  under  the 
circumstances  absolutely  out  of  the  question. 
Some  portions  of  the  province,  however,  where 
water  is  obtainable  are  quite  fertile. 

Towards  the  west  the  hills  show  some  signs  ot 
vegetation,  mainly  fruit  trees.  But  nothing 
larger  than  a  bush  grows  wild,  if  we  except 
occasional  stunted  fig-trees.  Surrounded  by 
mountains  as  Yezd  is,  there  are  two  different 
climates  close  at  hand  :  that  of  the  "  Kohestan  " 
or  hills,  temperate  in  summer  but  piercing  cold 
in  winter,  and  the  other,  much  warmer,  of  the 
low-lying  land.  In  the  eastern  lowlands  the 
summer  heat  is  excessive,  in  autumn  just  bear- 
able, and  in  the  spring  the  climate  is  quite 
delightful.  In  all  seasons,  however,  with  few 
exceptions,  it  is  generally  dry  and  always  healthy 
and  pure. 

Where  some  moisture  is  obtainable  the  soil  is 


XXXVIII  YEZD  383 

very  fertile  and  is  cultivated  by  the  natives.  The 
chief  cultivated  products  are  wheat,  barley,  and 
other  cereals,  cotton,  opium,  and  tobacco.  The 
vine  flourishes  near  Yezd,  and  the  w^ines  used  by 
the  Parsees  are  not  unpalatable.  Mulberries  are 
cultivated  in  large  quantities.  Silk  is  probably 
the  most  important  product  of  the  Yezd  district. 
Wild  game  is  said  to  be  plentiful  on  the  moun- 
tains. With  the  exception  of  salt,  the  mineral 
products  of  the  district  are  insignificant. 

Yezd  is  a  great  trading  centre,  partly  owning 
to  its  geographical  position,  partly  because  its 
inhabitants  are  very  go-ahead  and  enterprising. 
Yezd  men  are  great  travellers  and  possess  good 
business  heads.  They  go  across  the  salt  desert 
to  Khorassan  and  Afghanistan,  and  they  trade, 
w^ith  India  principally,  via  Kerman,  Bandar 
Abbas,  and  Lingah,  and  also  to  a  small  extent 
via  Sistan.  Previously  the  trade  v^ent  entirely 
by  Shiraz  and  Bushire,  but  now  that  road  is 
very  unsafe,  owing  to  robbers.  Yezd  traders 
travel  even  much  further  afield,  as  far  as  China, 
India,  Java.  During  my  short  stay  I  met  quite 
a  number  of  people  who  had  visited  Bombay, 
Calcutta,  Russia,  Bokhara,  and  Turkestan. 

The  settled  population  of  Yezd  consists  mostly 
of  Shia  Mahommedans,  the  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Persian  race,  with  an  intermixture  of 
foreign  blood;  the  Parsees  or  Zoroastrians,  who 
still  retain  their  purity  of  race  and  religious 
faith,  and  who  are  principally  engaged  in  agri- 
culture and  commerce  ;  a  very  small  community 
of  European  Christians,  including  a  few  Armenian 


384  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

natives  of  Julfa  (Isfahan).  Then  there  are  about 
one  thousand  Jews,  who  live  mostly  in  abject 
poverty. 

The  Mahommedan  population  of  the  town 
may  be  approximately  estimated  at  sixty  thou- 
sand. Here,  even  more  noticeably  than  in  any 
other  Persian  town,  there  is  very  little  outward 
show  in  the  buildings,  which  are  of  earth  and 
mud  and  appear  contemptible,  but  the  interiors 
of  houses  of  the  rich  are  pleasant  and  well-cared 
for.  The  miserable  look  of  the  town,  however, 
is  greatly  redeemed  by  the  beauty  of  the  gardens 
which  surround  it. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  roads  in  and 
around  Yezd  are  in  a  v/retched  condition,  being 
absolutely  neglected,  for  were  there  safer  and 
more  practicable  roads  trade  would  be  facilitated 
and  encouraged  to  no  mean  degree.  As  things 
stand  now,  indigenous  trade  is  increasing  slowly, 
but  foreign  trade  is  making  no  headway.  The 
silk  and  opium  trades,  which  were  formerly  the 
most  profitable,  have  of  late  declined.  Cottons 
and  woollens,  silk,  the  Kasb  and  Ahihi  of  very 
finest  quality,  shawls,  cotton  carpets  and  noted 
i^elts  equal  if  not  superior  to  the  best  of  Kum, 
are  manufactured  both  for  home  use  and  for 
export. 

The  exports  mainly  consist  of  almonds  and 
nuts,  tobacco,  opium  (to  China),  colouring 
matters,  walnut-wood,  silk,  wool,  cotton  carpets, 
felts,  skins,  assafoetida,  shoes,  copper  pots, 
country  loaf-sugar,  sweetmeats,  for  which  Yezd 
is  celebrated,   etc.      Henna  is  brought    to    Yezd 


XXXVIII    THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  YEZD     385 

from  Minab  and  Bandar  Abbas  to  be  ground  and 
prepared  for  the  Persian  market,  being  used  with 
rang  as  a  dye  for  the  hair. 

The  chief  imports  are  spices,  cotton  goods, 
yarn,  prints,  copper  sheeting,  tin  slabs,  Indian 
tea,  broadcloth,  jewellery,  arms,  cutlery,  watches, 
earthenware,  glass  and  enamel  wares,  iron,  loaf- 
sugar,  powdered  sugar,  etc. 

The  Government  of  Yezd,  as  of  other  cities 
of  Persia,  is  purely  despotic,  Hmited  only  by  the 
power  and  influence  of  the  Mahommedan  priests, 
the  Mullahs,  and  by  the  dread  of  private  ven- 
geance or  an  occasional  insurrection.  It  is  true 
that  the  actions  of  Hakims  and  Governors  and 
their  deputies  are  liable  to  revision  from  the 
Teheran  authorities,  but  this  does  not  prevent 
exactions  and  extortions  being  carried  on  quite 
openly  and  on  a  large  scale. 

The  present  Governor,  Salal-ud-dauleh — 
"  Glory  of  the  state," — eldest  son  of  Zil-es- 
Sultan,  is  an  intelligent  and  well-to-do  young 
man,  sensibly  educated,  who  tries  his  best  to 
be  fair  to  everybody  ;  but  it  is  very  difficult  for 
him  to  run  alone  against  the  strong  tide  of 
corruption  which  swamps  everything  in  Persia.^ 
He  is  not  in  good  health,  and  spends  much  of 
his  time  hunting  wild  game  at  his  country  place 
in  the  hills  near  Yezd.  His  town  residence  is  a 
kind  of  citadel — not  particularly  impressive,  nor 
clean — inside  the  city  wall.  The  Naib-ul- 
Kukumat  was  the  Deputy-Governor  at  the  time 
of  my  visit.  He  seemed  quite  an  affable  and 
intelligent  man. 


VOL.   1 


c  c 


386  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Near  the  Palace  in  the  heart  of  the  city  are 
the  covered  bazaars,  old  and  new,  and  well 
stocked  with  goods,  but  they  are  in  character  so 
exactly  like  those  of  Teheran  and  Isfahan, 
already  described  in  previous  chapters,  that  a 
repetition  is  quite  unnecessary.  The  streets  are 
irregularly  planned,  and  the  older  ones  are  very 
dark  and  dingy,  but  the  newer  arcades  are  lofty 
and  handsome.  The  merchants  seem — for  Persia 
— quite  active  and  business-like. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  population  of  Yezd  is  said  to  have  been  one 
hundred  thousand  souls,  and  to  have  dwindled 
down  to  less  than  thirty  thousand  in  1 868-1 870 
during  the  terrific  famine  which  took  place  at 
that  time.  Whether  this  is  correct  or  not,  it  is 
difficult  to  ascertain,  but  to-day  the  city  is  on 
the  increase  again,  and  the  population,  as  already 
stated,  is  certainly  not  less  than  sixty  thousand. 
There  are  numerous  Mahommedan  hammams 
(baths) — some  65  or  more — in  Yezd,  but  Euro- 
peans are  not  allowed  to  enter  them. 

The  Yezd  people  are  very  forward  in  educa- 
tional matters.  I  inspected  some  of  the  schools 
and  colleges,  and  was  much  impressed  by  the 
matter-of-fact,  sensible  way  in  which  some  of 
the  more  modern  institutions  were  conducted. 
They  would  indeed  put  to  shame  a  great  many 
of  our  schools  in  England,  and  as  for  the  talent 
of  children,  as  compared  with  English  children 
of  the  same  age,  one  had  better  say  nothing  at 
all.  With  no  exaggeration,  children  aged  six 
analysed  and  reasoned  out  problems  placed  before 


XXXVIII  ANGELIC  CHILDREN  387 

them  in  a  way  that  would  in  this  country 
baffle  men  of  six  times  that  age.  The  quickness 
of  the  Persian  child's  brain  is  well-nigh  astound- 
ing, and  as  for  their  goodness  and  diligence, 
there  is  only  one  word  that  fits  them  :  they  are 
simply  "  angelic."  Their  intense  reverence  for 
the  teachers,  their  eagerness  really  to  learn,  and 
their  quiet,  attentive  behaviour  were  indeed 
worthy  of  admiration.  But  it  must  be  well 
understood  that  these  angelic  traits  are  confined 
to  the  school-days  only.  When  they  leave 
school  the  "  angelic "  wears  ofi^  very  soon,  and 
the  boys,  unluckily,  drift  into  the  old  and  demo- 
ralized ways  with  which  Persia  is  reeking. 

There  are  about  a  dozen  public  schools  in 
Yezd,  but  the  one  conducted  on  most  modern 
lines  is  the  new  school  started  by  the  Mushir. 
If  I  understood  aright,  the  Mushir  provided  the 
buildings  and  money  to  work  the  school  for  a 
period  of  time,  after  which  if  successful  it  will 
be  handed  over  to  be  supported  by  the  city  or  by 
private  enterprise. 

The  school  was  excellent.  There  were  a 
hundred  pupils  from  the  ages  of  six  to  fifteen, 
and  they  were  taught  Arabic,  Persian,  English, 
French,  geography,  arithmetic,  &c.  There  was 
a  Mudir  or  head  master  who  spoke  French  quite 
fluently,  and  separate  teachers  for  the  other  vari- 
ous matters.  The  school  was  admirably  con- 
ducted, with  quite  a  military  discipline  mingled 
with  extreme  kindFicss  and  thoughtKilness  on  the 
part  of  the  teachers  towards  the  pupils.  By  the 
sound  of  a  bell   the   boys   were  collected   by  the 

c   c   2 


388  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Mudir  in  the  court-yard,  round  which  on  two 
floors  were  the  schoolrooms,  specklessly  clean 
and  well-aired. 

While  I  was  being  entertained  to  tea,  sherbet, 
and  coffee,  on  a  high  platform,  I  was  politely 
requested  to  ascertain  for  myself  the  knowledge 
of  the  boys — most  of  whom  had  only  been  in  the 
school  less  than  a  year.  It  was  rather  interesting 
to  hear  little  chaps  of  six  or  eight  rattle  off, 
in  a  language  foreign  to  them  and  without 
making  a  single  mistake,  all  the  capitals  of  the 
principal  countries  in  the  world,  and  the  largest 
rivers,  the  highest  mountains,  the  biggest  oceans, 
and  so  on.  And  other  little  chaps — no  taller 
than  three  feet — summed  up  and  subtracted  and 
divided  and  multiplied  figures  with  an  assurance, 
quickness  and  accuracy  which  I,  personally,  very 
much  envied.  Then  they  wrote  English  and 
French  sentences  on  the  slate,  and  Persian  and 
Arabic,  and  I  came  out  of  the  school  fully  con- 
vinced that  whatever  was  taught  in  that  school 
was  certainly  taught  well.  These  were  not 
special  pupils,  but  any  pupil  I  chose  to  pick 
out  from  the  lot. 

I  visited  another  excellent  institution,  the 
Parsee  school — one  of  several  teaching  institu- 
tions that  have  been  established  in  Yezd  by  the 
Bombay  Society  for  the  amelioration  of  Persian 
Zoroastrians, — in  a  most  beautiful  building  in- 
ternally, with  large  courts  and  a  lofty  vaulted 
hall  wherein  the  classes  are  held.  The  boys, 
from  the  ages  of  six  to  fifteen,  lined  the  walls, 
sitting   cross-legged    on    mats,    their    notebooks. 


XXXVIII  EDUCATIONAL  WORK  389 

inkstands,  and  slate  by  their  side.  At  the  time 
of  my  visit  there  were  as  many  as  230  pupils, 
and  they  received  a  similar  education,  but  not 
quite  so  high,  as  in  the  Mushir  school.  In  the 
Parsee  school  less  time  was  devoted  to  foreign 
languages. 

Ustad  Javan  Mard,  a  most  venerable  old  man, 
was  the  head-master,  and  Ustad  Baharam  his 
assistant.  The  school  seemed  most  flourishing, 
and  the  pupils  very  well-behaved.  Although 
the  stocks  for  punishing  bad  children  were  very 
prominent  under  the  teacher's  table,  the  head- 
master assured  me  that  they  were  seldom  re- 
quired. 

Another  little  but  most  interesting  school  is 
the  one  in  connection  with  the  clerical  work 
done  by  the  Rev.  Napier  Malcolm.  It  is  at- 
tended principally  by  the  sons  of  well-to-do 
Mussulmans  and  by  a  few  Parsees,  who  take 
this  excellent  opportunity  of  learning  English 
thoroughly.  Most  of  the  teaching  is  done  by 
an  Armenian  assistant  trained  at  the  C.  M.  S.  of 
Julfa.  Here,  too,  I  was  delightfully  surprised  to 
notice  how  intelligent  the  boys  were,  and  Mr. 
Malcolm  himself  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the 
work  done  by  the  students.  They  showed  a 
great  facility  for  learning  languages,  and  I 
was  shown  a  boy  who,  in  a  few  months,  had 
picked  up  sufficient  English  to  converse  quite 
fluently.  The  boys,  I  was  glad  to  see,  are 
taught  in  a  very  sensible  manner,  and  what 
they  are  made  to  learn  will  be  of  permanent  use 
to  them. 


390  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  is  to  be  thanked, 
not  only  for  this  good  educational  work  which  it 
supplies  in  Yezd  to  children  of  all  creeds,  but  for 
the  well-appointed  hospital  for  men  and  women. 
A  large  and  handsome  caravanserai  was  presented 
to  the  Medical  Mission  by  Mr.  Godarz  Mihri- 
ban-i-Irani,  one  of  the  leading  Parsees  of  Yezd, 
and  the  building  was  adapted  and  converted  by 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  into  a  hospital, 
with  a  permanent  staff  in  the  men's  hospital  of 
an  English  doctor  and  three  Armenian  assist- 
ants. There  is  also  a  smaller  women's  hospital 
with  an  English  lady  doctor,  who  in  1901  was 
aided  by  two  ladies  and  by  an  Armenian  assistant 
trained  at  Julfa. 

There  are  properly  disinfected  wards  in  both 
these  hospitals,  with  good  beds,  a  well  appointed 
dispensary,   and   dissecting  room. 

The  natives  have  of  late  availed  themselves 
considerably  of  the  opportunity  to  get  good 
medical  assistance,  but  few  except  the  very 
poorest,  it  seems,  care  actually  to  remain  in  the 
hospital  wards.  They  prefer  to  take  the  medicine 
and  go  to  their  respective  houses.  A  special 
dark  room  has  been  constructed  for  the  operation 
and  cure  of  cataract,  which  is  a  common  com- 
plaint in  Yezd. 

The  health  of  Yezd  is  uncommonly  good,  and 
were  it  not  that  the  people  ruin  their  digestive 
organs  by  excessive  and  injudicious  eating,  the 
ailments  of  Yezd  would  be  very  few.  The 
population  is,  without  exception,  most  favourable 
to    the    work    of  the  Medical  Mission,  and  all 


XXXVIII  THE  BEHAI  SECT  391 

classes  seem  to  be  grateful  for  the  institution  in 
the  town. 

The  school  work  of  the  Mission  necessarily 
appeals  to  a  much  smaller  circle,  but  there  is  no 
doubt  whatever  about  its  being  appreciated,  and, 
further,  there  seems  to  be  exceedingly  little 
hostility  to  such  religious  inquiry  and  teaching 
as  does  not  altogether  collide  with  or  appear  to 
tend  to  severance  from  the  Mussulman  or  Parsee 
communities.  This  is  very  likely  due  to  the 
fast  extending  influence  of  the  Behai  sect,  the 
members  of  which  regard  favourably  an  ac- 
quaintance with  other  non-idolatrous  religions. 
These  people,  notwithstanding  their  being  out- 
side of  official  protection  and  in  collision  with 
the  Mullahs,  form  to-day  a  large  proportion  of 
the  population  of  Yezd,  and  exercise  an  influence 
on  public  opinion  considerably  wider  than  the 
boundaries  of  their  sect.  As  for  actual  Mission- 
ary work  of  Christianization  going  beyond  this 
point,  the  difficulties  encountered  and  the  risks 
of  a  catastrophe  are  too  great  at  present  for  any 
sensible  man  to  attempt  it. 

The  European  staff  of  the  C.M.S.  Mission, 
employed  entirely  in  educational  and  medical 
work  in  Yezd,  consists  of  the  Rev.  Napier 
Malcolm,  M.A.,  a  most  sensible  and  able  man, 
and  Mrs.  Malcolm,  who  is  of  great  help  to  her 
husband  ;  George  Day  Esq.,  L.R.C.P.  &  S.,  and 
Mrs.  Day;  Miss  Taylor,  L.R.C.P.  &  S.,  Miss 
Stirling,  Miss  Brighty. 

The  work  for  ladies  is  somcwliat  uphill  antl 
n(jt  always   pleasant,  for  in   Mussulman   countries 


392  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

women,  if  not  veiled,  are  constantly  exposed  to 
the  insults  of  roughs  ;  but  people  are  beginning 
to  get  reconciled  to  what  appeared  to  them  at 
first  the  very  strange  habits  of  European  women, 
and  no  doubt  in  time  it  will  be  less  unpleasant 
for  ladies  to  work  among  the  natives.  So  far 
the  few  English  ladies  who  have  braved  the 
consequences  of  undertaking  work  in  Persia  are 
greatly  to  be  admired  for  their  pluck,  patience, 
and  tact. 

The  Yezd  C.M.S.  Mission  was  started  in 
May,  1898,  by  Dr.  Henry  White,  who  had  a 
year's  previous  experience  of  medical  work  at 
Julfa  and  Isfahan.  He  was  then  joined  in 
December  of  the  same  year  by  the  Rev.  Napier 
Malcolm,  who  had  just  come  out  from  England. 
The  European  community  of  Yezd  is  very  small. 
Besides  the  above  mentioned  people — who  do 
not  always  reside  in  Yezd — there  are  two 
Englishmen  of  the  Bank  of  Persia,  and  a  Swiss 
employed  by  the  firm  of  Ziegler  &  Co.  That 
is  all. 

The  fact  that  the  Persian  Government  recog- 
nizes the  "  race  religions,"  such  as  those  of 
Armenians,  Parsees  and  Jews,  has  led  many  to 
believe  that  religious  liberty  exists  in  Persia. 
There  is  a  relative  tolerance,  but  nothing  more, 
and  even  the  Parsees  and  Jews  have  had  until 
quite  lately — and  occasionally  even  now  have — 
to  submit  to  considerable  indignities  on  the  part 
of  the  Mullahs.  For  new  sects  like  the  Behai, 
however,  who  abandon  the  Mussulman  faith, 
there  is  absolutely  no  official  protection.     Great 


XXXVIII  LIMITED  RELIGIOUS  SUFFERANCE393 

secrecy  has  to  be  maintained  to  avoid  persecution. 
There  seems,  nevertheless,  to  be  a  disposition  on 
the  part  of  the  Government  to  go  considerably 
beyond  this  point  of  sufferance,  but  wider 
toleration  does  not  exist  at  present,  nor  is  it 
perfectly  clear  to  w^hat  length  the  Government 
of  the  country  would  be  prepared  to  go. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX 

The  Guebres  of  Yezd — Askizar — The  Sassanian  dynasty — 
Yezdeyard — The  name  "  Parsees  " — The  Arab  invasion  of 
Persia — A  romantic  tale — Zoroaster — Parsees  of  India — 
Why  the  Parsees  remained  in  Yezd  and  Kerman — ^Their 
number — Oppression — The  teaching  of  the  Zoroastrian 
religion  and  of  the  Mahommedan — A  refreshing  quality — 
Family  ties — Injustice — Guebre  places  of  worship — The 
sacred  fire — Religious  ceremonies — Three  excellent  points 
in  the  Zoroastrian  religion — The  Parsees  not  "  fire 
worshippers  " — Purification  of  fire — No  ancient  sacred 
books — Attire — No  civil  rights — The  "jazia"  tax — 
Occupations — The  Bombay  Parsees  Amelioration  Society 
and  its  work — The  pioneers  of  trade — A  national  assembly 
— Ardeshir  Meheban  Irani — Establishment  of  the  Associa- 
tion— Naturalized  British  subjects— Consulates  wanted — 
The  Bombay  Parsees— Successful  traders — Parsee  generosity 
— Mr.  Jamsetsji  Tata. 

Yezd  is  extremely  interesting  from  a  historical 
point  of  view,  and  for  its  close  association  with 
that  wonderful  race  the  "  Guebres,"  better  known 
in  Europe  by  the  name  of  Parsees.  The  ancient 
city  of  Askizar  was  buried  by  shifting  sands,  in  a 
desert  with  a  few  oases,  and  was  followed  by  the 
present  Yezd,  which  does  not  date  from  earlier 
than  the  time  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty. 

Yezdeyard,  the  weak  and  unlucky  last  King  of 
the  Sassan  family,  which  had  reigned  over  Persia 


CH.  XXXIX     THE  PARSEES  OF  YEZD  395 

for  415  years,  was  the  first  to  lay  the  foundations 
of  the  city  and  to  colonize  its  neighbourhood. 
It  is  in  this  city  that,  notwithstanding  the  suf- 
ferings and  persecution  of  Mussulmans  after  the 
Arab  invasion  of  Persia,  the  successors  of  a  hand- 
ful of  brave  people  have  to  this  day  remained 
faithful  to  their  native  soil. 

To  be  convinced  that  the  Parsees  of  Yezd  are 
a  strikingly  fine  lot  of  people  it  is  sufficient  to 
look  at  them.  The  men  are  patriarchal,  generous, 
sober,  intelligent,  thrifty  ;  the  women,  contrary 
to  the  usage  of  all  Asiatic  races,  are  given  great 
freedom,  but  are  renowned  for  their  chastity  and 
modesty. 

The  name  of  Parsees,  adopted  by  the  better- 
known  Guebres  who  migrated  to  India,  has  been 
retained  from  Pars  or  Pars,  their  native  country, 
which  contained,  before  the  Arab  invasion, 
Persepolis  as  the  capital,  with  a  magnificent 
royal  palace.  From  this  province  the  whole 
kingdom  eventually  adopted  the  name. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the  history  of 
the  nine  dynasties  which  ruled  in  Persia  before 
it  was  conquered  by  the  Arabs,  but  for  our  pur- 
pose it  is  well  to  remind  the  reader  that  of  all 
these  dynasties  the  Sassanian  was  the  last,  and 
Yezdeyard,  as  we  have  seen,  the  ultimate  King 
of  the  Sassan  family. 

One  is  filled  with  horror  at  the  romantic  tale 
of  how,  through  weakness  on  his  part  and 
treachery  on  that  of  his  people,  the  fanatic 
Arabs,  guided  by  the  light  of  Allah  the  Prophet, 
conquered    Persia,    slaying    the    unbelievers   and 


396  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

enforcing  the  Mahommedan  religion  on  the 
survivors.  The  runaway  Yezdeyard  wsls  trea- 
cherously slain  v^ith  his  own  jewelled  sword 
by  a  miller,  in  whose  house  he  had  obtained 
shelter  after  the  disastrous  battle  of  Nahavand 
and  his  flight  through  Sistan,  Khorassan  and 
Merv.  Persia,  with  every  vestige  of  its  magni- 
ficence, was  lost  for  ever  to  the  Persians,  and  the 
supremacy  of  Mahommedanism,  with  its  demo- 
ralizing influence,  its  haughty  intolerance  and 
fanatic  bigotism,  was  firmly  established  from  one 
end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  The  fine  tem- 
ples, the  shrines  of  the  Zoroastrians,  were  merci- 
lessly destroyed  or  changed  into  mosques. 

Zoroaster,  the  prophet  of  the  Parsees,  had  first 
promulgated  his  religion  during  the  reign  of 
Gushtasp  (b.c.  1300)  of  the  Kayanian  family, 
but  after  centuries  of  vicissitudes  and  corruption 
it  was  not  till  the  time  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty 
(a.d.  226)  that  Ardeshir  Babekhan,  the  brave 
and  just,  restored  the  Zoroastrian  religion  to  its 
ancient  purity.  It  is  this  religion — the  true 
religion  of  ancient  Persia — that  was  smothered 
by  the  conquered  Arabs  by  means  of  blood  and 
steel,  and  is  only  to-day  retained  in  a  slightly 
modified  character  by  the  few  remaining  Guebres 
of  Yezd  and  Kerman,  as  well  as  by  those  who, 
sooner  than  sacrifice  their  religious  convictions 
and  their  independence,  preferred  to  abandon 
their  native  land,  migrating  to  India  with  their 
families,  where  their  successors  are  to  be  found 
to  this  day  still  conservative  to  their  faith. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  although — in 


XXXIX  PERSECUTION  397 

the  conglomeration  of  races  that  form  the  Indian 
Empire — -the    Parsees    are    few    in   number,   not 
more  than  100,000  all  counted,  they  nevertheless 
occupy,  through  their  honesty,  intelligence  and 
firmness  of  character,  the  foremost  place  in  that 
country.     But  with  these  Parsees  who  migrated 
we    have    no    space    to    deal    here.      We    will 
merely  see  why  the  remainder  escaped  death  at 
the  hands  of  the  Mahommedans, and,  while  ever  re- 
maining true  to  their  religion,  continued  in  Yezd 
and  Kerman  when,  under  the  new  rulers,  almost 
the  whole  of  the  Zoroastrian  population  of  Persia 
was  compelled  to  embrace  the  religion  of  Islam. 
The  fact  that  Yezd  and  Kerman  were  two  dis- 
tant and  difficult  places  of  access  for  the  invading 
Moslems,  may  be  taken   as   the  likely  cause   of 
the  Zoroastrians  collecting   there.     Also  for  the 
same  reason,  no  doubt,  the  Arabs,  tired  of  fighting 
and  slaying,  and  having  given  way  to  luxury  and 
vice,  had  become   too    lazy    to    carry    on    their 
wholesale  slaughter  of  the  Zoroastrian  population. 
This  leniency,  however,  has  not  done  away  en- 
tirely with   constant   tyrannical   persecution   and 
oppression  of  the   unbelievers,  so  that   now  the 
number  of  Zoroastrians  of  Yezd  does  not  exceed 
7,000,  and  that  of  Kerman  is  under  3,000.   A  great 
many   Zoroastrians   have,   notwithstanding   their 
unwillingness,  been  since  compelled  to  turn  Ma- 
hommedans.     Even  fifty  years  ago  the  Zoroas- 
trians   of  Yezd    and    Kerman     called    in    Persia 
contemptuously    "  Guebres,"   were    subjected    to 
degradations  and  restrictions  of  the  worst  kind. 
Now   their  condition,   under   a  stronger  govern- 


398  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

ment  and  some  foreign  influence,  has  slightly 
ameliorated,  but  is  not  yet  entirely  secure  against 
the  cruelty,  fanaticism,  and  injustice  of  the  Mul- 
lahs and  officials  in  the  place. 

If  Yezd  is,  for  its  size,  now  the  most  enter- 
prising trading  centre  of  Persia,  it  is  mostly  due 
to  the  Guebres  living  there.  Although  held  in 
contempt  by  the  Mullahs  and  by  the  Mahom- 
medans  in  general,  these  Guebres  are  manly 
fellows,  sound  in  body  and  brain,  instead  of  lasci- 
vious, demoralized,  effeminate  creatures  like  their 
tyrants.  Hundreds  of  years  of  oppression  have 
had  little  effect  on  the  moral  and  physical  con- 
dition of  the  Guebres.  They  are  still  as  hardy 
and  proud  as  when  the  whole  country  belonged 
to  them  ;  nor  has  the  demoralizing  contact  of 
the  present  race,  to  whom  they  are  subject,  had 
any  marked  effect  on  their  industry,  which  was 
the  most  remarkable  characteristic  in  the  ancient 
Zoroastrians. 

The  Zoroastrian  religion  teaches  that  every 
man  must  earn  his  food  by  his  own  exertion 
and  enterprise, — quite  unlike  the  Mahommedan 
teaching,  that  the  height  of  bliss  is  to  live  on  the 
charity  of  one's  neighbours,  which  rule,  however, 
carries  a  counterbalancing  conviction  that  the 
more  money  dispensed  in  alms,  the  greater  the 
certainty  of  the  givers  obtaining  after  death  a 
seat  in  heaven. 

One  of  the  most  refreshing  qualities  of  the 
Guebres  (and  of  the  Parsees  in  India)  is  that  they 
are  usually  extraordinarily  truthful  for  natives  of 
Asia,  and  their  morality,  even  in   men,  is  indeed 


xxxix     HONEST  AND  GOOD  PEOPLE         399 

quite  above  the  average.  There  are  fev^  races 
among  v^hich  marriages  are  conducted  on  more 
sensible  Hues  and  are  more  successful.  The  man 
and  woman  united  by  marriage  live  in  friendly 
equality,  and  are  a  help  to  one  another.  Family 
ties  are  very  strong,  and  are  carried  down  even 
to  distant  relations,  while  the  paternal  and  mater- 
nal love  for  their  children,  and  touching  filial 
love  for  their  parents,  is  most  praiseworthy  and 
deserves  the  greatest  admiration. 

The  Mussulmans  themselves,  although  reli- 
giously at  variance  and  not  keen  to  follow  the 
good  example  of  the  Guebres,  admit  the  fact 
that  the  Zoroastrians  are  honest  and  good  people. 
It  is  principally  the  Mullahs  who  are  bitter 
against  them  and  instigate  the  crowds  to  excesses. 
There  is  not  such  a  thing  for  the  Guebres  as 
justice  in  Persia,  and  even  up  to  quite  recent 
times  their  fire  temples  and  towers  of  silence 
were  attacked  and  broken  into  by  Mussulman 
crowds,  the  fires,  so  tenderly  cared  for,  merci- 
lessly put  out  :  the  sacred  books  destroyed,  and  the 
temples  desecrated  in  the  most  insulting  manner. 

There  are  a  number  of  Guebre  places  of  wor- 
ship in  Yezd,  and  in  the  surrounding  villages 
inhabited  by  Guebre  agriculturists,  but  the  prin- 
cipal one  is  in  the  centre  of  the  Guebre  quarter 
of  Yezd  city.  It  is  a  neat,  small  structure, 
very  simple  and  whitewashed  inside,  with  a 
fortified  back  room  wherein  the  sacred  fire  is 
kept  alight,  well  covered  with  ashes  by  a  specially 
deputed  priest.  It  is  hidden  so  as  to  make  it 
difficult  fi)r  intending  invaders  to  discover  it ;  and 


400  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

the  strong  door,  well  protected  by  iron  bars, 
wants  a  good  deal  of  forcing  before  it  can  be 
knocked  down. 

The  religious  ceremony  in  the  temple  of  the 
Guebres  is  very  interesting,  the  officiating  priests 
being  dressed  up  in  a  long  white  garment,  the 
sudra,  held  together  by  a  sacred  girdle,  and  with 
the  lower  portion  of  the  face  covered  by  a  square 
piece  of  cloth  like  a  handkerchief ;  on  the  head 
they  wear  a  peculiar  cap.  Various  genuflexions, 
on  a  specially  spread  carpet,  and  bows  are  made 
and  prayers  read. 

The  priests  belong  generally  to  the  better 
classes,  and  the  rank  is  mostly  hereditary.  Certain 
ceremonies  are  considered  necessary  before  the 
candidate  can  attain  the  actual  dignity  of  a  prel- 
ate. First  of  the  ceremonies  comes  the  navar, 
or  six  days'  retreat  in  his  own  dwelHng,  followed 
by  the  ceremony  of  initiation  ;  four  more  days 
in  the  fire  temple  with  two  priests  who  have 
previously  gone  through  the  Tasna  prayers  for 
six  consecutive  mornings.  Although  after  this 
he  can  officiate  in  some  ceremonies,  such  as 
weddings,  he  is  not  fully  qualified  as  a  priest 
until  the  Bareshnun  has  been  undergone  and 
again  the  Tasna.  The  following  day  other 
prayers  are  ofi^ered  to  the  guardian  spirit,  and 
at  midnight  the  last  ceremony  takes  place,  and 
he  is  qualified  to  the  degree  of  Maratab,  when 
he  can  take  part  in  any  of  the  Zoroastrian  rituals. 

As  a  preliminary,  great  purity  of  mind  and 
body  are  required  from  candidates,  and  they  are 
made  to  endure  lavish   ablutions    of  water    and 


I'AkSKK    I'KIKSTS    OK    Y V./A)    Ofl-ICI ATINC;    DUKINC    CkRKMONY    IN     llll-.IK 

Fire  Temple. 


XXXIX      THREE  EXCELLENT  POINTS         401 

cow  urine,  clay  and  sand — an  ancient  custom, 
said  to  cleanse  the  body  better  than  modern 
soaps.  After  that  the  candidate  is  secluded  for 
nine  whole  days  in  the  fire  temple,  and  is  not 
permitted  to  touch  human  beings,  vegetation, 
water  nor  fire,  and  must  wash  himself  twice 
more  during  that  time,  on  the  fourth  day  and  on 
the  seventh.  It  is  only  then  that  he  is  considered 
amply  purified  and  able  to  go  through  the  Navar 
ceremony. 

The  Zoroastrian  religion  is  based  on  three 
excellent  points — "  good  thoughts,  good  words, 
good  deeds  " — and  as  long  as  people  adhere  to 
them  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  they  can  go 
wrong.  They  worship  God  and  only  one  God, 
and  do  not  admit  idolatry.  They  are  most 
open-minded  regarding  other  people's  notions, 
and  are  ever  ready  to  recognise  that  other 
religions  have  their  own  good  points. 

Perhaps  no  greater  libel  was  ever  perpetrated 
on  the  Parsees  than  when  they  were  put  down 
as  "  fire-worshippers,"  or  "  worshippers  of  the 
elements."  The  Parsees  are  God-worshippers, 
but  revere,  not  worship,  fire  and  the  sun  as  sym- 
bols of  glory,  heat,  splendour,  and  purity  ;  also 
because  fire  is  to  human  beings  one  of  the  most 
necessary  things  in  creation,  if  not  indeed  the 
most  necessary  thing  ;  otherwise  they  are  no 
more  fire-worshippers  than  the  Roman  Catholics, 
for  instance,  who  might  easily  come  under  the 
same  heading,  for  they  have  lighted  candles  and 
lights  constantly  burning  in  front  of  images 
inside  their  cliurches. 

VOL.    I  D   D 


402  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Besides,  it  is  not  the  fire  itself,  as  fire,  that 
Parsees  nurse  in  their  temples,  but  a  fire  specially 
purified  for  the  purpose.  The  process  is  this  : 
Several  fires,  if  possible  originally  lighted  by 
some  natural  cause,  such  as  lightning,  are 
brought  in  vases.  Over  one  of  these  fires  is 
placed  a  flat  perforated  tray  of  metal  on  which 
small  pieces  of  very  dry  sandal-wood  are  made 
to  ignite  by  the  mere  action  of  the  heat,  but 
must  not  actually  come  in  contact  with  the 
flame  below.  From  this  fire  a  third  one  is 
lighted  in  a  similar  manner,  and  nine  times  this 
operation  is  repeated,  each  successive  fire  being 
considered  purer  than  its  predecessor,  and  the 
result  of  the  ninth  conflagration  being  pro- 
nounced absolutely  pure. 

It  is  really  the  idea  of  the  purifying  process 
that  the  Parsees  revere  more  than  the  fire  itself, 
and  as  the  ninth  fire  alone  is  considered  worthy 
to  occupy  a  special  place  in  their  temples,  so,  in 
similarity  to  it,  they  aim  in  life  to  purify  their 
own  thoughts,  words,  and  actions,  and  glorify 
them  into  "  good  thoughts,  true  words,  noble 
actions."  This  is  indeed  very  different  from  fire- 
worshipping  of  which  the  Parsees  are  generally 
accused. 

In  Yezd  the  Guebres  told  me  that  they 
possessed  very  few  sacred  books  in  their  temple 
(or  if  they  had  them  could  not  show  them). 
They  said  that  all  the  ancient  books  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  Mahommedans  or  had  been 
taken  away  to  India. 

There  were  also  several  smaller  temples  in  the 


XXXIX  THE   "JAZIA"  403 

neighbourhood  of  Yezd,  which  had  gone  through 
a  good  many  vicissitudes  in  their  time,  but  now 
the  Parsees  and  their  places  of  worship  are  left 
in  comparative  peace,  Parsee  men  and  women 
are  still  compelled  to  wear  special  clothes  so  as 
to  be  detected  at  once  in  the  streets,  but  this 
custom  is  gradually  dying  out.  The  women  are 
garbed  in  highly-coloured  striped  garments,  a 
short  jacket  and  a  small  turban,  leaving  the  face 
uncovered.  The  men  are  only  allowed  to  wear 
certain  specially-coloured  cloaks  and  are  not 
allowed  to  ride  a  horse  in  the  streets  of  Yezd. 

Parsees  do  not  enjoy  the  civil  rights  of  other 
citizens  in  Persia,  and  justice  was  until  quite 
lately  out  of  the  question  in  the  case  of  differences 
with  Mussulmans.  At  death  a  man's  property 
would  be  lawfully  inherited  by  any  distant 
relation  who  had  adopted  the  religion  of  Moslem, 
instead  of  by  the  man's  own  children  and  wife 
who  had  remained  faithful  to  their  creed  ;  and 
in  the  matter  of  recovering  debts  from  Mussul- 
mans the  law  of  Persia  is  certainly  very  far 
indeed  from  helping  a  Guebre.  This  is  neces- 
sarily a  great  obstacle  in  commercial  intercourse. 

Worst  of  all  the  burdens  formerly  inflicted 
upon  the  Guebres — as  well  as  upon  Armenians 
and  Jews  of  Persia — was  the  "  jazia  "  tax.  Some 
thousand  or  so  male  Guebres  of  Yezd  were 
ordered  to  pay  the  tax  yearly,  which  with 
commissions  and  "  squeezes  "  of  Governors  and 
officials  was  made  to  amount  to  some  two 
thousand  tomans,  or  about  >C4oo  ^^  ^^^'^  present 
rate     of    exchange.      Much     severity    and    even 

D   D   2 


404  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

cruelty  were  enforced  to  obtain  payment  of  the 
tax. 

The  Parsees  were,  until  quite  lately,  debarred 
from  undertaking  any  occupation  that  might 
place  them  on  a  level  with  Mahommedans. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  merchants — who, 
by  migrating  to  India  and  obtaining  British 
nationality,  returned  and  enjoyed  a  certain 
amount  of  nominal  safety — the  majority  of  the 
population  consists  of  agriculturists  and 
scavengers. 

Mainly  by  the  efforts  of  the  Bombay  Amelior- 
ation Society  of  the  Parsees,  the  Guebres  of  Yezd 
and  Kerman  fare  to-day  comparatively  well. 
The  "jazia"  has  been  abolished,  and  the  present 
Shah  and  the  local  Government  have  to  be  con- 
gratulated on  their  fairness  and  consideration 
towards  these  fine  people.  May-be  that  soon 
they  will  be  permitted  to  enjoy  all  the  rights  of 
other  citizens,  which  they  indeed  fully  deserve. 
Many  steps  have  been  made  in  that  direction 
within  the  last  few  years.  The  Parsees  are  a 
most  progressive  race  if  properly  protected. 
They  are  only  too  anxious  to  lead  the  way  in  all 
reformation,  and,  with  all  this,  are  remarkable  for 
their  courteousness  and  refined  manner. 

The  most  prominent  members  of  the  Yezd 
community,  especially  the  sons  of  Meheban 
Rustam,  have  been  the  pioneers  of  trade  between 
Yezd  and  India.  Besides  the  excellent  Parsee 
school,  several  other  institutions  have  been  estab- 
lished in  Yezd  and  its  suburbs  by  the  Bombay 
Society,  supported  by  a  few  charitable  Parsees  of 


XXXIX  A  NATIONAL  ASSEMBLY  405 

Bombay  and  some  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
Parsee  community  in  Yezd.  The  Bombay  Society 
has  done  much  to  raise  the  Zoroastrians  of  Persia 
to  their  present  comparatively  advanced  state,  but 
trade  and  commerce  also  have  to  a  great  extent 
contributed  to  their  present  eminence. 

The  Bombay  Society  nominates  and  sends  an 
agent  to  reside  in  Teheran,  the  capital  of  Persia, 
to  look  after  the  interests  of  helpless  Zoroastrians, 
and  the  Parsees  of  Yezd  have  moreover  a  national 
assembly  called  the  Anguman-i-Nasseri. 

I  was  entertained  by  this  interesting  body  of 
men,  and  received  from  their  president,  Ardeshir 
Meheban  Irani,  much  of  the  valuable  information 
here  given  about  the  Yezd  Parsees.  The  As- 
sociation has  an  elected  body  of  twenty-eight 
members,  all  honorary,  the  most  venerable  and 
intelligent  of  the  community,  and  its  aims  are  to 
advocate  the  social  rights  of  the  Zoroastrians  as  a 
race,  to  settle  disputes  arising  between  the  indi- 
viduals of  the  community,  to  defend  helpless 
Parsees  against  Moslem  wantonness,  and  to  im- 
prove their  condition  generally. 

The  Association  was  established  on  the  3rd  of 
February,  1902,  by  the  late  Mr.  Kaikosroo 
Firendaz  Irani,  the  then  agent  of  the  Bombay 
Society.  In  this  work  he  had  the  advice  and 
help  of  the  leading  men  of  the  community. 

There  are  several  naturalised  British  subjects 
in  Yezd,  including  the  President  of  the  Associa- 
tion— who  speaks  and  writes  English  as  well  as 
any  Englishman — but  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted 
that  these   men   cannot  obtain   proper  protection 


4o6  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

from  the  British  Government.  Yet  these  fellows 
could  be  of  very  great  assistance  to  England  in 
spreading  British  influence  in  Yezd,  not  to  speak 
of  increasing  British  trade — which  they  are  only 
too  anxious  to  do,  if  a  chance  is  given  them — in 
conjunction  with  the  representatives  of  their  race 
in  Bombay — the  most  Anglicised,  except  in 
religion,  of  all  our  subject  races  of  India.  There 
was  formerly  a  British  Vice-Consul  in  Yezd,  but 
for  some  reason  known  to  the  Government,  while 
Russia  finds  it  expedient  to  establish  Consular 
agents  in  all  the  principal  centres  of  Persia,  we 
have  actually  withdrawn  our  representative  even 
from  so  important  a  city  as  Yezd  ! 

The  Parsee  communities  of  Yezd  and  Bombay 
are  in  constant  communication  with  each  other, 
and  it  is  well  known  what  marvellous  prosperity 
these  fugitives  of  Pars  have  now  attained  in 
Bombay,  through  their  honesty  and  hard  work, 
especially  since  their  connection  with  the  British, 
whose  civilisation,  with  the  exception  of  religion 
and  the  hat,  they  have  entirely  adopted.  Most 
of  them  speak  perfect  English,  and  many  of  the 
sons  of  the  wealthier  Parsees  have  been  educated 
at  universities  in  England.  We  find  them  work- 
ing banking  houses  on  a  large  scale,  and  cotton 
mills,  running  lines  of  steamers  and  shipbuilding 
yards.  They  trade  considerably  v/ith  the  Far  East 
and  Far  West,  and  with  every  nook  in  Asia.  Even 
as  far  as  Samarkand,  Bokhara,  Siberia,  Nijni- 
Novgorod,  and  St.  Petersburg,  Parsee  traders  are 
to  be  found,  and  in  Japan,  China,  the  United  States, 
and  Canada.     With    England    they   carry   on   a 


XXXIX  EXTREME  GENEROSITY  407 

very  extensive  trade,  and  through  them  as  inter- 
mediaries much  of  the  import  trade  into  India 
finds  its  way  into  neighbouring  markets  more 
difficult  of  access  to  the  direct  British  exporter. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  traits  of  the 
flourishing  Parsees  of  Bombay  is  their  extreme 
generosity,  often  hampered  by  petty,  stupid, 
Anglo-Indian  officialdom,  which  they  seem  to 
stand  with  amazing  patience  and  good-nature. 
We  find  well  appointed  hospitals  erected  by 
them  ;  schools,  clubs,  and  only  lately  one  of 
the  richest  of  all  Parsees,  Mr.  Jamsetsji  Tata,  has 
given  the  city  of  Bombay  no  less  a  gift  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  pounds  for  the  erection  of  a 
university  on  the  most  modern  lines  in  that 
city. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Badj'irs — Below  the  sand  level — Chappar  service  between  Yezd 
and  Kerman — The  elasticity  of  a  farsakh — Sar-i-Yezd — An 
escort- -Where  three  provinces  meet — Etiquette — Robbers' 
impunity — A  capital  story — Zen-u-din — The  Serde  Kuh 
range — Desert — Sand  accumulations — Kermanshah — The 
Darestan  and  Godare  Hashimshan  Mountains — Chappar 
Khana  inscriptions  and  ornamentations  by  travellers — 
Shemsh. 

The  most  characteristic  objects  in  Yezd  are  the 
badjirs^  a  most  ingenious  device  for  catching  the 
wind  and  conveying  it  down  into  the  various 
rooms  of  dwelling.  These  badjirs  are  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  ventilating  cowls  of  ships. 
The  ventilating  shafts  are  usually  very  high  and 
quadrangular,  with  two,  three,  or  more  openings 
on  each  side  at  the  summit  and  corresponding 
channels  to  convey  the  wind  down  into  the  room 
below.  The  lower  apertures  of  the  channels 
are  blocked  except  on  the  side  where  the  wind 
happens  to  blow,  and  thus  a  draught  is  created 
from  the  top  downwards,  sweeping  the  whole 
room  and  rendering  it  quite  cool  and  pleasant 
even  in  the  hottest  days  of  summer.  The  reason 
that  one  finds  so  many  of  these  high  badjirs  in 
Yezd  is  probably  that,  owing  to  constant  accu- 


cH.  XL  VENTILATING  COWLS  409 

mulations  of  sand,  the  whole  city  is  now  below 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  desert,  and  some 
device  had  to  be  adopted  to  procure  fresh  air 
inside  the  houses  and  protect  the  inhabitants 
from  the  suffocating  lack  of  ventilation  during 
the  stifling  heat  of  the  summer.  The  badjirs 
are  certainly  constructed  in  a  most  scientific 
or,  rather,  practical  manner,  and  answer  the  pur- 
pose to  perfection. 

When  we  leave  Yezd  the  city  itself  cannot  be 
seen  at  all,  but  just  above  the  sand  of  the  desert 
rise  hundreds  of  these  quadrangular  towers,  some 
very  large  indeed,  which  give  the  place  a  quaint 
appearance. 

From  Yezd  to  Kerman  there  is  again  a  service 
of  post-horses,  so  I  availed  myself  of  it  in  order 
to  save  as  much  time  as  possible.  The  horses 
were  not  much  used  on  this  road  so  they  were 
excellent. 

I  departed  from  Yezd  on  October  26th,  and 
soon  after  leaving  the  city  and  riding  through 
the  usual  plentiful  but  most  unattractive  ruins, 
we  were  travelling  over  very  uninteresting 
country,  practically  a  desert.  We  passed  two 
villages — Najafabat  and  Rachmatabad — and  then 
wound  our  way  through  avenues  of  dried-up 
mulberry  trees  at  Mahommedabad  or  Nama- 
dawat,  a  village  where  silk-worms  are  reared  in 
quantities,  which  accounts  for  the  extensive 
mulberry  plantations  to  provide  food  lor  them. 
The  village  is  large  and  is  three  farsakhs  from 
Yezd,  or  something  like  ten  miles. 

The    "  farsakh " — the    most     elastic     measure 


4IO  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

ever  invented — decreases  here  to  just  above  three 
miles,  whereas  further  north  it  averaged  four 
miles. 

In  a  strong  wind  we  rode  on,  first  on  sand, 
then  on  gravelly  soil,  ever  through  dreary, 
desolate  country.  The  villages,  Taghiabad, 
Zehnawat,  etc,  get  smaller  and  poorer  and 
further  apart,  and  some  eight  tarsakhs  from 
Yezd  we  eventually  reach  the  small  town  of  Sar- 
i-Yezd.  From  Namadawat  the  country  was  an 
absolutely  flat  gravel  plain  with  no  water. 

At  Sar-i-Yezd  (Altitude  4,980  feet)  we  were 
detained  some  time.  The  highest  official  in  the 
place  had  received  orders  from  the  Governor  of 
Yezd  not  to  let  me  proceed  without  a  strong 
guard  to  accompany  me.  This  was  rather  a 
nuisance  than  otherwise,  for,  although  the 
country  between  Sar-i-Yezd  and  Anar  was 
reported  infested  by  robbers,  we  really  should 
have  been  able  to  hold  our  own  against  them 
even  without  the  rabble  that  was  sent  to  accom- 
pany us. 

After  a  delay  of  some  hours  five  soldiers — as 
picturesque  as  they  would  have  been  useless  in 
case  of  danger — put  in  an  appearance.  They  had 
old  long  muzzle  loaders,  which  must  have  been 
more  dangerous  to  the  person  firing  them  than 
to  the  ones  fired  at,  and  they  wore  elaborate 
leather  belts  with  two  ample  pouches  for  lead 
bullets,  two  gunpowder  flasks  made  of  desiccated 
sheep  testicles,  a  leather  bag  for  small  shot,  and 
a  large  iron  ring  with  small  clips  for  caps. 
Horses  could  not  be  procured  for  these  men,  so 


iMKKHiK    >)\     <n.l'    (    AK.W  .\;>^KKA1     Willi    Cl.MKAl.    WAIKK    TANK. 


XL  UNCLAIMED   LAND  411 

they  had  to  follow  my  baggage  on  foot,   which 
caused  a  further  delay. 

We  left  shortly  before  sunset  as  I  intended 
marching  the  whole  night.  There  was  a  great 
discussion  among  these  soldiers  about  crossing 
over  into  Kerman  territory,  four  farsakhs  beyond 
Sar-i-Yezd,  and  just  at  the  point  where  the 
robbers  are  supposed  to  attack  caravans  the 
guard,  whether  through  fear  or  otherwise,  de- 
clined to  come  on.  Sadek  remonstrated  most 
bitterly,  but  three  of  them  left  us,  while  two 
said  they  had  been  entrusted  with  orders  to  see 
me  and  my  luggage  safely  to  the  place  where 
another  guard  could  be  obtained  and  would  con- 
tinue. I  tried  to  persuade  them  to  go  back  too, 
but  they  would  not. 

It  appears  that  between  Sar-i-Yezd  and  Zen-u- 
din  there  is  an  expanse  of  waste  land  near  the 
boundarv  of  the  Yezd,  Kerman  and  Farsistan 
(Shiraz)  provinces,  the  possession  of  which  is 
declared  by  the  Governors  of  all  these  provinces 
not  to  belong  to  them,  the  boundary  having 
never  been  properly  defined.  So  robbers  can 
carry  on  their  evil  deeds  with  comparative 
immunity,  as  they  do  not  come  under  the  juris- 
diction of  any  of  the  three  Governors  in  question. 
Moreover,  if  chased  by  Yezd  soldiers,  they  escape 
into  Shiraz  or  Kerman  territory,  and  if  pursued 
by  Kerman  troops  they  escape  into  either  of  the 
neighbouring  provinces,  while  the  (jovernor  of 
Shiraz,  being  the  furthest  and  least  interested  in 
that  distant  corner  of  his  province,  really  never 
knows  and  probably  does  not  care  to  learn   what 


412  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

takes  place  in  so  remote  and  barren  a  spot.  In 
any  case  he  will  not  be  held  responsible  for  any- 
thing happening  there.  It  would  certainly 
involve  him  in  too  great  expense  and  difficulty  to 
send  soldiers  to  live  so  far  into  the  desert,  and 
unless  in  great  force  they  could  be  of  little 
assistance  to  caravans  ;  so  that,  as  things  stand, 
robber  bands  have  it  all  their  own  way. 

Strict  etiquette  is  observed  between  Governors 
of  provinces  and  their  subordinates,  and  an  en- 
croachment on  one's  neighbour's  territory  would 
be  considered  a  most  outrageous  breach  of  good 
manners  and  respective  rights. 

Still  travelling  quite  fast  across  sand,  and  with 
no  brigands  in  sight,  we  went  on,  pleasantly 
entertained  by  the  astounding  yarns  of  the  two 
remaining  soldiers.  We  were  told  how,  twenty 
years  ago,  a  foreign  doctor — nationaHty  unknown 
— being  attacked  by  a  band  of  thirty  robbers, 
produced  a  small  bottle  of  foreign  medicine — 
presumably  a  most  highly  concentrated  essence 
of  chloroform — from  his  waistcoat  pocket  and, 
having  removed  the  cork,  the  thirty  brigands 
immediately  fell  on  all  sides  in  a  deep  sleep. 
The  doctor  and  his  party  then  continued  their 
journey  quietly,  and  returned  several  days  later 
with  a  number  of  soldiers,  who  had  no  trouble  in 
despatching  the  robbers  from  a  temporary  into 
an  eternal  sleep,  without  their  waking  up  at  all  ! 

On  beina:  asked  how  it  was  that  the  doctor 
himself  remained  awake  when  such  a  powerful 
narcotic  was  administered,  the  narrator  did  not 
lose  his  presence  of  mind  nor  his  absence  of  con- 


XL  A  PRECIOUS  BOTTLE  413 

science,  and  said  the  doctor  had,  during  the 
operation,  held  his  nose  tight  with  his  two 
fingers.  The  doctor  had  since  been  offered 
thousands  of  tomans  for  the  precious  bottle,  but 
would  not  part  with  it. 

The  soldiers  told  us  a  great  many  more  stories 
of  this  type,  and  they  recounted  them  with  such 
an  aplomb  and  seriousness  that  they  nearly  made 
one  fall  off  one's  saddle  with  laughter.  Every 
now  and  then  they  insisted  on  firing  off  their 
rifles,  which  I  requested  them  to  do  some  dis- 
tance away  from  my  horses.  There  were  no 
mishaps. 

At  Sar-i-Yezd  I  had  not  been  able  to  obtain 
fresh  horses,  so  the  Yezd  horses  had  been  taken 
on,  with  an  additional  donkey.  They  had  gone 
splendidly,  and  we  arrived  at  Zen-u-din  shortly 
after  ten  o'clock  at  night. 

Solitary,  in  the  middle  of  the  desert,  and  by 
the  side  of  a  salt  water  well,  stands  Zen-u-din  (Alt. 
5,170  feet).  There  is  a  chappar  station,  and 
a  tumbling-down,  circular  caravanserai  with 
massively  built  watch-towers.  These  appeared 
much  battered  as  if  from  the  result  of  repeated 
attacks. 

Wc  left  our  soldier  protectors  behind  here, 
and  two  more  military  persons,  in  rags  and  with 
obsolete  guns,  insisted  on  accompanying  us,  but 
as  they  were  on  foot  and  would  have  delayed 
us  considerably  I  paid  them  off,  a  hundred  yards 
from  Zen-u-din,  and  sent  them  back. 

There  are  mountains  extending  from  tbe  north- 
east to  the  south-east,  the  Serde  Kuh    range,  and 


414  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

to  the  south-east  they  are  quite  close  to  the  track 
and  show  low  passes  a  mile  or  so  apart  by  which 
the  range  could  easily  be  crossed.  To  the  west 
also  v/e  have  high  hills,  some  three  or  four  miles 
apart  from  the  mountains  to  the  north-east,  and 
to  the  north  an  open  desert  as  far  as  Yezd.  We 
notice  here  again  the  curious  accumulations  of 
sand  high  up  on  the  south  mountain  side,  and 
also  to  the  south-west  of  the  mountain  range 
east  of  us. 

At  ten  in  the  morning,  after  a  dreary  ride 
through  desolate  country,  we  reached  the  small 
village  of  Kermanshah  (5,300  feet),  where  a 
post  station  and  caravanserai  were  to  be  found, 
a  few  trees  and,  above  all,  some  good  drinking 
water.  From  Zen-u-din  to  Kermanshah,  a  dis- 
tance of  sixteen  miles  (five  farsakhs),  we  had  seen 
only  one  solitary  tree  to  the  south-west  of  the 
track. 

We  had  now  rugged  mountains  about  a  mile 
to  the  west  and  south-west.  These  were  ranges 
parallel  to  one  another,  the  Darestan  mountains 
being  the  nearest  to  us  and  the  Godare  Hashim- 
shan  behind  them  further  south-west. 

While  I  was  waiting  for  fresh  horses  to  be  got 
ready  I  amused  myself  at  every  station  studying 
the  curious  inscriptions  and  ornamentations  by 
scribbling  travellers  on  the  caravanserai  and  post- 
house  walls.  Laboriously  engraved  quotations 
from  the  Koran  were  the  most  numerous,  then 
the  respective  names  of  travellers,  in  characters 
more  or  less  elaborate  according  to  the  education 
of  the  writer,  and   generally  accompanied  by  a 


Typical  Caravanserai  and  Mrn  Four  in  mi'-  T'i'.skkt  i!kt\vi:i:n  Vi:zn  and 

Kekman. 


A  Tkaki.  Cak WANSKRAi,   Kkkman. 


XL  THE  CONVENTIONALISED  PEACOCK  415 

record  of  the  journey,  place  or  birth,  and  destina- 
tion of  the  scribbler.  Occasionally  one  was 
startled  by  a  French  inscription  in  sickening 
terms  of  humility,  the  work  of  Persian  minor 
officials  in  Government  employ,  who  thus  made 
a  public  exhibition  of  their  knowledge  of  a 
foreign  language  and  expounded  in  glowing 
terms  their  servile  admiration  for  superiors. 

More  interesting  were  the  records  of  illiterate 
travellers  vv^ho,  in  default  of  literature,  placed  one 
arm  and  hand  upon  the  whitewashed  wall  and 
traced  their  silhouette  with  the  point  of  a  knife 
or  a  bit  of  charcoal  or  a  brush  held  in  the  other 
hand. 

Then  came  those  still  more  artistically  inclined, 
who  ventured  into  conventionalised  representa- 
tions of  the  peacock  with  widely-expanded  tail — 
the  most  favourite  and  frequent  of  Persian  out- 
bursts of  Chappar  khana  art,  and  probably  the 
most  emblematic  representation  of  Persian  char- 
acter. The  conventionalised  peacock  is  repre- 
sented in  a  few  lines,  such  as  one  sees  on  the 
familiar  Persian  brass  trays. 

The  Shah's  portrait  with  luxuriant  moustache 
is  met  in  most  Chappar  khanas  scraped  some- 
where upon  the  wall,  and  not  infrequently  other 
whole  human  figures  drawn  in  mere  lines,  such 
as  children  do  in  our  country,  but  with  a  greater 
profusion  of  anatomical  detail.  Very  frequent 
indeed  are  the  coarse  representations  of  scenes 
in  daily  life,  whicli  we  generally  prefer  to  leave 
unrecorded — in  fact,  the  artistic  genius  of  the 
Persian  traveller  seems  to  run  very  much  in  that 


4t6  across  coveted  LANDS  chap. 

direction,  and  these  drawings  are  generally  the 
most  elaborate  of  all,  often  showing  signs  of 
multiple  collaboration. 

Horses  fully  harnessed  are  occasionally  at- 
temnted,  but  I  never  saw  a  camel  represented. 
Only  once  did  I  come  across  a  huge  representa- 
tion of  a  ship  or  a  boat.  Small  birds  drawn  with 
five  or  six  lines  only,  but  quite  characteristic  of 
conventionalised  Persian  art,  were  extremely 
common,  and  were  the  most  ingeniously  clever  of 
the  lot.  Centipedes  and  occasional  scorpions  were 
now  and  then  attempted  with  much  ingenuity  and 
faithfulness  of  detail  but  no  artistic  merit. 

All  these  ornamentations,  studied  carefully, 
tauo-ht  one  a  good  deal  of  Persian  character. 
That  the  Persian  is  very  observant  and  his  mind 
very  analytical,  is  quite  out  of  the  question,  but 
his  fault  lies  in  the  fact  that  in  art  as  in  daily  life 
minor  details  strike  him  long  before  he  can  grasp 
the  larger  and  more  important  general  view  of 
what  he  sees.  He  prefers  to  leave  that  to  take 
care  of  itself  We  find  the  same  characteristics 
not  only  in  his  frivolous  Chappar  khana  art — 
where  he  can  be  studied  unawares  and  is  there- 
fore quite  natural — but  in  his  more  serious  art, 
in  his  music,  in  his  business  transactions,  in  his 
political  work.  The  lack  of  simplicity  which  we 
notice  in  his  rude  drawings  can  be  detected  in 
everything  else  he  does,  and  the  evident  delight 
which  he  takes  in  depicting  a  peacock  with  its  tail 
spread  in  all  its  glory  is  nothing  more  and  nothing 
less  than  an  expression  of  what  the  Persian  feels 
within  himself  in  relation  to  his  neighbours. 


XL  A  DREARY  TRACK  417 

Nothing  has  a  greater  fascination  for  him  than 
outward  show  and  pomp.  He  cares  for  Httle 
else,  and  a  further  proof  of  this  unhappy  vain- 
glory is  obtained  by  the  study  of  the  wall  scrolls 
of  the  travelling  public — whether  travelling 
officially  or  for  trading  purposes — representing 
in  Persia  usually  the  most  go-ahead  and  in- 
telligent section  of  the  Persian  population. 

On  we  go  along  the  dreary  track,  again  on 
flat,  desolate  country  of  sand  and  stones  at  the 
spur  of  the  mountains  to  the  west  and  south- 
west. Sand  deposits  rise  at  a  gentle  gradient  up 
to  half  the  height  of  these  mountains,  well 
padding  their  slopes.  The  track  here  leads  us 
due  south  to  a  low  pass  at  an  altitude  of  5,680 
feet.  One  gets  so  tired  of  the  monotonous 
scenery  that  one  would  give  anything  to  perceive 
something  attractive  ;  nor  is  the  monotony  of 
the  journey  diminished  by  two  other  miserable 
nagging  soldiers  who  have  clung  to  us  as  an 
escort  from  Kermanshah,  and  who  are  running 
after  our  horses  moaning  and  groaning  and 
saying  they  are  starved  and  tired  and  have  not 
received  their  pay  nor  their  food  from  the 
Government  for  several  months. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  pass  there  is  a  basin 
encircled  by  mountains,  except  to  the  south-east, 
where  we  find  an  open  outlet.  The  track  goes 
south-south-east  through  this  yellow  plain,  and 
on  proceeding  across  we  find  several  conical 
black  mounds  with  curious  patches  of  a  verdigris 
colour.     To  the  east  rises  a  low  sand  dune. 

We  come  in  sight  of  Shemsh,  a  most  forlorn, 

VCL.   I  t     E 


41 8  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS         ch.  xl 

cheerless  place.  Sadek  gallops  ahead  with  the 
fwrjins,  in  which  he  has  the  cooking  pans,  some 
dead  fowls,  and  a  load  of  vegetables  and  pome- 
granates, and  I  slow  down  to  give  him  time  to 
prepare  my  lunch.  I  arrived  at  the  place  at 
2.45  P.M.  There  was  only  a  desolate  caravan- 
serai and  a  Chappar  khana. 

On  the  Yezd-Kerman  track  there  are  not  more 
than  three  horses  at  each  post  station — at  some 
there  are  only  two, — and  as  I  required  no  less 
than  five  horses,  or,  if  possible,  six,  I  always  had 
to  take  on  the  deficient  number  of  horses  from 
the  previous  stations.  I  generally  gave  these 
horses  two  or  three  hours'  rest,  but  it  made  their 
marches  very  long  indeed,  as  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  on  my  discharging  them  they  must  at 
once  return  to  their  point  of  departure.  Fortu- 
nately, the  traffic  was  so  small  by  this  road  that 
the  horses  were  in  good  condition,  and  so  I 
was  able  to  proceed  at  a  good  rate  all  along. 
Occasionally,  one  or  two  horses  had  to  be  taken 
on  for  three  consecutive  stages,  which,  taking  as 
an  average  six  farsakhs  for  each  stage,  made  the 
distance  they  had  to  travel,  including  return 
journey,  six  stages,  or  some  120  miles  in  all. 

The  altitude  of  Shemsh  was  5,170  feet. 


CHAPTER    XLI 

Desolate  scenery — Anar — A  word  for  Persian  servants — Sadek's 
English — Bayas  village — Sand  deposits — Robber  villagers — 
Kushkuhyeh  Chappar  khana — The  post  contractor,  his 
rifle — Cotton  cultivation — Fast  grovi^ing  Rafsenju — Trade 
tracks — Hindu  merchants — Sadek  and  the  Chappar  boy — 
Kafter-han — Photography  and  w^omen — A  flat,  salty  stretch 
of  clay  and  sand — The  Kuh  Djupahr  peaks — Robat 
women — Baghih — Attractive  girls  —  Mirage — Arrival  in 
Kerman. 

I  LEFT  Shemsh  two  hours  later,  at  4.30,  and 
we  travelled  over  slightly  undulating  country 
on  sandy  ground  with  occasional  tracts  of  stones 
and  gravel.  If  possible,  this  part  was  even  more 
desolate  than  the  scenery  we  had  found  before 
reaching  here,  and  not  a  vestige  of  vegetation  or 
animal  life  could  be  detected  anywhere.  When 
night  descended  upon  us  we  had  glorious  moon- 
light to  brighten  our  way,  and  we  marched  on 
gaily — this  time  without  the  nuisance  of  an 
escort — until  we  arrived  at  Anar  at  9.30  p.m. — 
seven  farsakhs  (about  22  miles)  from  Shemsh. 

From  what  one  could  see  during  our  short 
stay  in  the  night  there  appeared  to  be  a  large 
village,  mostly  in  ruins,  with  a  few  trees  and  a 
mud  fort.  We  had  gradually  descended  here  to 
4,800    feet.      The    water    was   quite   good.      We 

K   K   2 


420  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

only  allowed  ourselves  three  hours  to  have  our 
dinner  and  sleep,  and  I  ordered  the  horses  to  be 
ready  shortly  after  midnight. 

And  here,  whatever  other  faults  they  may  have, 
a  word  of  commendation  must  be  put  in  for  the 
endurance  of  Persian  servants.  It  is  all  very  well 
for  one's  self  to  do  with  little  sleep,  but  servants 
who  will  go  days  and  days  without  any  at  all, 
and  without  a  word  of  complaint  or  sign  of 
collapse,  are  retainers  not  easily  found  and  not 
to  be  despised.  Certainly,  one  seldom  obtains 
such  qualities  in  European  servants.  After  doing 
fifty  or  sixty  miles  on  the  saddle  we  would  get 
off,  and  I  rested  awhile,  writing  up  my  notes  or, 
if  at  night,  changing  plates  in  my  cameras,  but 
Sadek  never  had  any  rest  at  all.  No  sooner  had 
we  jumped  off  our  horses  than  he  had  to  undo 
the  saddles  and  unpack  the  baggage  and  kill 
fowls  and  cook  my  meals,  which  all  took  him 
some  little  time  ;  then  he  had  to  wash  or  clean 
up  everything  and  repack,  and  run  about  the 
villages  to  purchase  provisions,  and  all  this  kept 
him  well  employed  until  the  hour  of  departure  ; 
so  that,  even  when  I  could  put  in  a  couple  of 
hours'  sleep  of  a  night,  he  never  had  time  to 
sleep  at  all.  Sleeping  on  the  saddle,  of  course, 
was  usual  when  we  travelled  by  caravan,  but  was 
impossible  when  chapparing.  So  that  he  had 
to  go  several  days  at  a  time  without  a  moment's 
wink. 

The  remarkable  facility  with  which,  under 
these  trying  circumstances,  he  got  most  excellent 
meals  ready  at  all  hours  of  the  day  or  night  and 


xLi  SADEK'S  VOCABULARY  421 

in  the  most  outlandish  places,  and  the  magic 
way  in  which  he  could  produce  fuel  and  make 
a  fire  out  of  the  most  unlikely  materials,  was 
really  extraordinary.  True,  he  took  himself 
and  his  work  most  seriously  and  his  pride  lay 
principally  in  having  no  reproach  about  the 
cooking. 

He  had  a  smattering  of  English  that  was  very 
quaint.  Everything  above  ground  he  called 
"  upstairs "  ;  anything  on  the  ground  or  below 
was  "  downstairs."  Thus,  to  mount  and  dis- 
mount a  horse  was  laconically  expressed  "  horse 
upstairs,"  '*  horse  downstairs."  Similarly,  to  lie 
down  was  "  downstairs,"  to  get  up  "  upstairs." 
Anything  involving  violent  motion  was  "  shoot," 
by  which  single  word  to  fall,  to  kick,  to  bite,  to 
drop,  to  jump,  to  throw  away,  were  defined. 
He  possessed  a  good  vocabulary  of  swear  words 
— which  he  had  learnt  from  sailors  at  Bushire — 
and  these  served  him  well  when  anything  went 
wrong  ;  but  I  forbade  him  to  use  them  in  my 
presence  as  I  wished  to  have  the  monopoly  my- 
self, and  thus  his  English  vocabulary  was  very 
much  curtailed.  The  remainder  of  his  English 
conversation  applied  entirely  to  cooking  chickens. 

Shortly  after  midnight  we  moved  out  of  the 
Chappar  khana,  and,  barring  some  slight  culti- 
vation in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the 
village,  we  soon  entered  again  upon  the  flat,  sandy 
desert.  We  had  a  lovely  full  moon  over  us, 
which  added  to  the  pleasure  of  travelling,  and  we 
rode  on  to  Bayas  (five  farsakhs),  some  seventeen 
or  eighteen  miles,  where  we  arrived  at  five  in  the 


422  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

morning.     The  altitude  of  this  place  was  exactly 
the  same  as  that  of  Anar,  4,800  feet. 

Bayas  is  a  tiny  village  with  a  few  mulberry 
trees  and  a  small  stream  of  water.  It  has  a  fair 
caravanserai.  We  rested  the  horses  for  a  couple 
of  hours,  while  I  had  breakfast,  and  by  7.30  a.m. 
we  were  again  in  our  saddles. 

To  the  south-west  and  north-east  by  east  we 
again  perceived  the  familiar  high  sand  deposits,  all 
along  the  base  of  the  mountain  ranges,  and  they 
reached  up  to  two-thirds  of  the  height  of  the 
mountains,  forming  a  smooth,  inclined  plane 
rising  very  gently  from  the  flat  desert  on  which 
we  were  travelling.  To  the  north-east  by  east  the 
sand-banks  rose  nearly  to  the  summit  of  the  hill 
range. 

Sadek  and  the  chappar  boy  pointed  out  to  me 
a  village  to  the  north-east  of  the  track,  and 
informed  me  that  all  its  inhabitants  were  robbers 
and  murderers.  In  fact  upon  the  road,  we  came 
across  a  poor  boy  crying,  and  bruised  all  over. 
We  asked  him  what  was  the  matter.  He  pointed 
to  three  men  in  the  distance  who  were  running 
away,  and  said  they  had  beaten  him  and  stolen 
his  money,  two  krans,  and  two  pomegranates. 
Sure  enough,  when  we  galloped  to  the  men  and 
stopped  them  they  did  not  wait  to  be  accused 
but  handed  me  at  once  both  fruit  and  money  to 
be  returned  to  their  rightful  owner. 

These  folks  had  very  brutal  faces,  framed  in 
flowing  locks  of  shaggy  hair.  They  were  garbed 
in  long  thick  coats  of  white  felt,  made  entirely 
of  one  piece,  and  quite  stiff,  with  sleeves  sticking 


xLi  FIREARMS  423 

out  at  the  sides,  into  which  the  arms  were  never 
to  be  inserted.  There  were  two  red  and  blue 
small  circular  ornamentations  at  the  bottom  of 
the  coat  in  front,  and  one  in  the  centre  of  the 
back,  as  on  Japanese  kimonos. 

We  began  to  see  more  habitations  now,  and 
about  one  mile  north-east  of  the  track  we  per- 
ceived the  villages  of  Esmalawat,  Aliabad,  and 
Sher-i-fabad, — the  latter  quite  a  large  place.  We 
still  went  on  over  sand  and  white  salt  deposits. 

Poor  Sadek  was  so  tired  and  sleepy  that  he  fell 
off  his  horse  a  couple  of  times.  The  soil  got 
very  stony  on  getting  near  Kushkuhyeh  (Altitude 
4,900  feet),  where  we  entered  the  Chappar  khana 
exactly  at  noon. 

The  contractor  of  the  postal  service  lived  at 
this  village,  and  he  was  extremely  civil.  As 
many  as  eight  horses  were  in  his  stable,  and  he 
ordered  that  the  best  should  be  given  me.  He 
entertained  me  to  tea  and  took  the  keenest .  in- 
terest in  my  rifles.  He  also  possessed  one  of  the 
familiar  discarded  British  Martini  military  rifles, 
specially  decorated  for  the  Persian  market — a 
rifle  worth  at  its  most  a  pound  sterling,  or  two, 
but  for  which  he  had  paid  no  less  than  100 
tomans  (about  X^2o).  The  smugglers  of  firearms 
must  have  made  huge  profits  on  the  sale  of  these 
antiquated  weapons,  for  firearms  are  among  the 
few  articles  for  which  large  sums  of  ready  money 
can  be  obtained  in  Persia. 

This  particular  man  now  took  a  great  fancy  to 
my  -256  Mannlicher,  and  jokingly  said  he  would 
not  let  me  proceed   until    I   had  sold   it   to    him. 


424  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

He  produced  large  sums  in  solid  silver  to  tempt 
me,  about  four  times  the  value  of  the  rifle,  and 
was  greatly  upset  when  I  assured  him  that  I 
would  not  part  with  the  rifle  at  all. 

When  I  left,  he  accompanied  me  part  of  the 
way,  some  few  hundred  yards,  and  he  took  with 
him  his  Martini  and  a  belt  full  of  cartridges  ;  his 
servant  who  followed  him  was  also  similarly 
armed.  On  inquiring  of  him  why  master  and 
servant  loaded  themselves  with  arms  and  ammu- 
nition to  go  such  a  short  distance,  he  replied 
that  it  was  not  safe  for  him  to  go  unarmed  even 
one  yard  out  of  his  house.  One  of  his  friends 
had  been  murdered  only  a  few  days  before,  and 
one  never  knows  in  Persia  when  one's  turn  will 
come  next.  In  out-of-the-way  places  in  Persia 
private  revenge  is  extremely  common,  which 
generally  takes  the  form  of  shooting  one's  adver- 
sary in  the  back. 

There  seemed  to  be  abundance  of  water  at 
Kushkuhyeh,  and  the  fields  were  properly  irri- 
gated. Cultivation  seemed  prosperous,  and  vast 
cotton  plantations  were  to  be  seen  all  round. 
When  we  passed,  hundreds  of  men,  women  and 
children  were  busy  taking  in  the  cotton,  and 
scores  of  camels,  donkeys,  sheep  and  goats  graz- 
ing were  dotting  the  green  patch  in  the  land- 
scape. This  gay  scene  of  active  life  and  verdure 
was  all  the  more  refreshing  after  the  many  miles 
of  sand  and  gravel  and  barren  hills  of  which  we 
had  grown  so  weary  since  leaving  Yezd. 

Two  hours  were  wasted  for  lunch,  and  off  we 
went    again.     On   leaving    behind    Kushkuhyeh 


xLi  TRACKS  425 

we  also  left  behind  vegetation,  and  again  we  sank 
in  sand.  A  few  tamarisk  shrubs  were  scattered 
here  and  there  on  the  large  plain  we  were 
traversing,  bounded  on  all  sides  by  distant 
mountains. 

Three  and  a  half  farsakhs  (about  i  3  miles)  saw 
us  at  Hemmatawat,  a  large  walled  enclosure. 

At  6.30  P.M.  we  entered  the  small  town  of 
Barawamad  (Bahramabad) — altitude  5,150  feet — 
or  Rafsenju  as  it  is  called  now  by  its  new  name. 
This  is  a  fast-growing  place  of  quite  modern 
origin,  and  it  owes  most  of  its  prosperity  to  the 
extensive  cultivation  of  cotton,  exported  from 
here  direct  to  the  Persian  Gulf  and  India. 

Besides  the  route  on  which  we  are  travelling 
there  are  several  other  tracks  leading  out  of 
Barawamad.  A  minor  one  runs  in  a  north- 
easterly direction,  over  the  Dehring  Mountains 
to  the'Seroenan  district,  where  many  villages  are 
to  be  found,  and  then  turns  sharply  south-east 
via  Zerend  to  Kerman.  It  is  also  possible,  when 
once  one  has  crossed  into  Seroenan,  to  continue 
to  Lawah  (Rawar)  and  then,  across  the  Salt 
Desert,  to  Meshed  or  to  Birjand. 

To  the  Persian  Gulf  there  are  three  tracks. 
One  south-west  by  west  to  Sher-i-balek,  from 
which  place  the  traveller  has  the  option  to  travel 
to  Bushire  {via  Shiraz)  or  to  Lingah  or  to  Bandar 
Abbas  via  Forg.  Two  different  tracks,  to  Re- 
shitabad  and  Bidu,  join  at  Melckabad  (south-west) 
and  these  eventually  enter  the  Kerman-Shiraz- 
Bushire  track  ;  while  another  track,  the  most  in 
use,    goes    almost    due     south,    direct    to    Bidu, 


426  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

skirting  the  Pariz  Mountains  on  their  westerly 
slopes.  This  track,  too,  crosses  the  Kerman- 
Shiraz  route  at  Saidabad,  and  proceeds  due  south 
to  Bandar  Abbas. 

The  few  Hindoo  merchants  of  Kerman  come 
here  during  the  cotton  season  to  make  their 
purchases  and  send  their  goods  direct  to  Bandar 
Abbas  for  shipment  to  India.  Pottery  of  an 
inferior  kind  is  manufactured  at  Rafsenju. 

We  left  the  Chappar  khana  at  midnight  in  a 
terrific  cold  wind,  and  this  time  on  shockingly 
bad  horses.  They  vv^ere  tired  and  lame,  the  cold 
wind  probably  intensifying  the  rheumatic  pains 
from  which  most  of  them  were  suffering.  The 
country  was  undulating  and  we  gradually  rose  to 
5,700  feet.  The  horses  gave  us  no  end  of 
trouble  and  we  had  to  walk  the  greater  portion 
of  the  night. 

Sadek,  five  feet  two  in  height,  and  the 
Chappar  boy,  six  feet  two,  came  to  words  and 
soon  after  to  most  sonorous  blows.  To  add  to 
our  comfort,  the  Chappar  boy,  who  got  the 
worst  of  the  scrimmage,  ran  away,  and  it  was 
only  at  sunrise  that  we  perceived  him  again  a 
long  way  off  following  us,  not  daring  to  get  too 
near.  Eventually,  by  dint  of  sending  him  peace- 
ful messages  by  a  caravan  man  who  passed  us, 
Sadek  induced  him  to  return,  and  still  struggling 
in  the  sand  of  the  desolate  country  all  round  us, 
and  our  horses  sinking  quite  deep  into  it,  we 
managed  to  drag  men,  horses,  and  loads  into 
Kafter-han  (Kebuter-han) — altitude  5,680  feet — 
at  8.30  in  the  morning,  where  we  were  glad  to 


xLi  CLAY,  SAND  AND  SALT  427 

get  relays  of  fresh  steeds.  We  had  gone  about 
twenty-eight  miles  from  the  last  station. 

A  few  mud  huts,  an  ice  store-house,  a  flour 
mill,  a  high  building,  said  to  have  been  an 
arsenal,  the  usual  caravanserai,  and  a  dingy 
Chappar  khana  were  all,  quite  all  one  could  rest 
one's  eye  upon  at  Kafter-han.  There  was  some 
cultivation,  but  nothing  very  luxuriant.  The 
few  inhabitants  were  quite  interested  in  the 
sudden  appearance  of  a  ferenghi  (a  foreigner). 
The  women,  who  were  not  veiled  here,  were 
quite  good-looking,  one  girl  particularly,  whose 
photograph  I  snatched  before  she  had  time  to 
run  away  to  hide  herself — the  usual  effect  of  a 
camera  on  Persian  women,  quite  the  reverse  to 
its  effects  on  the  European  fair  sex. 

We  left  almost  directly  on  better  animals,  and 
proceeded  south-east  having  lofty  rugged  hills  to 
the  north-east,  east,  and  south  of  us,  with  the 
usual  high  sand  accumulations  upon  their  sides. 
To  the  south-east  we  could  just  discern  the 
distant  mountains  near  Kerman.  The  track 
itself,  on  the  sandy  embankment  at  the  foot  of 
the  hillside  to  the  south-west,  is  rather  high  up 
and  tortuous,  owing  to  a  very  long  salt  marsh 
which  fills  the  lower  portion  of  the  valley  during 
the  rainy  weather  and  makes  progress  in  a  straight 
line  impossible.  But  now,  owing  to  the  absolute 
absence  of  rain  for  months  and  months,  the 
marsh  was  perfectly  dry  and  formed  a  flat  white 
plastered  stretch  of  clay,  sand  and  salt,  as  smooth 
as  a  billiard-table,  and  not  unlike  an  immense 
floor  prepared  for  tennis-courts.      The   dried   salt 


428  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

mud  was  extremely  hard,  our  horses'  hoofs 
leaving  scarcely  a  mark  on  it.  I  reckoned  the 
breadth  of  this  flat,  white  expanse  at  one  and  a 
half  miles,  and  its  length  a  little  over  eleven 
miles.  Two  high  peaks  stood  in  front  of  us  to 
the  south-east,  the  Kuh  Djupahr,  forming  part 
of  a  long  range  extending  in  a  south-east  direc- 
tion. 

At  a  distance  of  four  farsakhs  (about  thirteen 
miles),  and  directly  on  the  other  side  of  the  dried- 
up  salt  stretch, we  came  to  anotherChappar  khana, 
at  the  village  of  Robat.  There  were  a  good 
many  women  about  in  front  of  the  huge  caravan- 
serai, and  they  looked  very  ridiculous  in  the  tiny 
short  skirts  like  those  of  ballet  girls,  and  not 
particularly  clean,  over  tight  trousers  quite  ad- 
hering to  the  legs. 

We  have  the  same  mountains  on  both  sides, 
and  we  continue  over  undulating  ground,  the 
valley  getting  somewhat  narrower  as  we  proceed 
towards  Baghih.  Six  or  seven  miles  from  Kafter- 
han  was  Esmaratabad  village,  a  mass  of  ruins,  and 
ten  miles  or  so  a  large  village,  still  in  fair  pre- 
servation, Sadi,  with  some  vegetation,  principally 
wheat.  The  track  lay  mostly  over  a  stony, 
barren  desert,  with  here  and  there,  miles  and 
miles  apart,  a  forced  patch  of  green. 

Baghih,  our  last  halt  before  reaching  Kerman, 
was  nine  farsakhs  from  Kafter-han.  It  stood  at 
an  elevation  of  5,740  feet,  and  had  plenty  of  ex- 
cellent water.  The  village  was  large,  with  hand- 
some walled  gardens  and  nicely-kept  wheat-fields 
all    round.     The   inhabitants   were   most   affable 


xLi  BAGHIH  429 

and  civil,  and  the  women  and  children  particu- 
larly simple  and  attractive.  The  girls  were 
attired  in  longer  and  more  graceful  skirts  than 
the  damsels  of  Robat,  and  did  not  leave  the  leg 
exposed  even  as  high  as  the  knee.  Over  it  they 
had  an  ample  shirt  with  wide  short  sleeves, 
showing  their  gracefully  modelled  and  well 
rounded  arms,  adorned  with  metal  bracelets.  On 
the  head  was  a  kerchief  neatly  bound  quite  tight 
over  the  head  by  means  of  a  ribbon. 

It  was  not  possible  to  get  fresh  horses  here, 
and  mine  were  very  tired  or  I  would  have  con- 
tinued to  Kerman  the  same  evening,  completing 
the  journey  from  Yezd  (220  miles)  in  three  days. 
We  had  arrived  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  had 
I  not  been  compelled  to  take  on  the  tired  horses  for 
the  remaining  four  farsakhs  (13  miles)  I  could 
have  easily  reached  Kerman  before  the  gates  of 
the  city  were  closed  at  sunset.  As  it  was,  I  had  to 
give  it  up,  and  had  to  sleep  the  night  at  Baghih, 
making  an  early  start  on  Wednesday,  the  30th. 

Baghih  is  actually  south-west  of  Kerman,  and 
the  track  makes  this  long  detour  to  avoid  the 
Bademan  Mountains  to  the  north.  It  thus  passes 
over  comparatively  level  land  in  the  valley  be- 
tween that  range  and  the  Kuh  Djupahr,  the 
track  turning  here  sharply  to  the  north-east,  in 
which  direction,  when  we  get  to  the  highest 
point  of  the  track  (5,980  feet)  one  and  a  halt 
farsakhs  from  Baghih,  we  can  almost  discern 
Kerman  in  the  distance.  Except  to  the  north- 
west we  have  high  mountains  all  round,  the  high- 
est being  the   Djupahr  to  the  south-east,  and  oi 


430  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS        ch.  xli 

which  we  now  get  a  most  lovely  view,  and  also 
of  the  whole  Kerman  plain  with  its  innumerable 
semi-spherical  sand-hills. 

At  the  foot  of  the  Djupahr  below  us  we  see 
the  two  villages  of  Kheirabad  and  Akhibarabad, 
with  many  trees  and  some  cultivation  round  them. 
On  descending  into  the  Kerman  plain  we  have 
deceiving  effects  of  mirage,  lovely  lakes  on  both 
sides  and  streams  of  water,  but  on  the  rising  of  a 
gentle  breeze,  limpid  lakes  and  streams  suddenly 
disappear,  and  the  whole  plain  is  nothing  but  a 
big  undulating  stretch  of  yellow  sand,  until  we 
arrive  within  almost  a  stone's-throw  of  the  city 
gates  of  Kerman. 

At  1 1  A.M.  on  Wednesday,  October  the  30th, 
I  halted  at  the  palatial  Chappar  khana  of  Kerman, 
just  outside  the  city  wall,  in  a  handsome  garden, 
having  accomplished  the  journey  from  Yezd  in 
four  days,  including  halts. 


CHAPTER  XLII 

Kerman — The  Ark  or  citadel  —  Civility  of  the  natives — 
Europeans  —  The  British  Consulate  —  Major  Phillott — 
H.  E.  Ala-el-Mulk,  Governor  of  Kerman — Soldiers — ■ 
Teaching  music  to  recruits — Preparation  for  the  campaign 
against  the  Beluch — Cloth  manufacture. 

It  was  my  intention  to  pay  my  respects  to  the 
British  Consul  for  whom  I  had  letters  of  intro- 
duction from  the  Minister  at  Teheran,  and  I  at 
once  proceeded  through  the  city,  entering  first 
the  "  Ark  "  or  citadel,  and  then  the  south-west 
gate  with  two  side  columns  of  green  and  blue 
tiles  in  a  spiral  design  and  pointed  archway,  into 
the  Meidan — a  fine  rectangular  square  of  great 
length  and  breadth.  Sentries  posted  at  the  gates 
of  the  city  and  at  the  sides  of  the  square  saluted, 
and  also  many  of  the  people  along  the  road. 
This  extraordmary  civility  was  very  refreshing  in 
a  country  where  one  only  expects  extreme  rude- 
ness from  the  lower  classes. 

We  entered  the  vaulted  bazaar,  the  main  big 
artery  of  Kerman  city,  intersected  about  half-way 
by  a  tortuous  street  from  north  to  south  and  by 
other  minor  narrow  lanes,  and  crowded  with 
people,  donkeys,   camels  and   mules  ;    and   here. 


432  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

too,  one  was  rather  surprised  to  see  various 
merchants  get  up  in  their  shops  salaaming  as  I 
passed,  and  to  receive  a  "  Salameleko  "  and  a  bow 
from  most  men  on  the  way.  The  bazaar  itself, 
being  in  appearance  more  ancient  than  those  of 
Yezd,  Isfahan  and  Teheran,  was  more  alluring 
and  had  many  quaint  bits.  It  bore,  however, 
very  much  the  same  characteristics  as  all  other 
bazaars  of  Persia.  At  the  end  of  it  on  the 
north-east  we  emerged  into  an  open  space  with 
picturesque  awnings,  suspended  mats,  and  spread 
umbrellas  shading  innumerable  baskets  of  deli- 
cious green  figs,  trays  of  grapes,  and  pome- 
granates, piles  of  water-melons  and  vegetables  of 
all  sorts. 

No  Europeans  live  within  the  wall  of  Kerman 
city  itself,  and  at  the  time  of  my  visit  there  were 
only  four  Europeans  altogether  residing  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  town.  Two  missionaries, 
husband  and  wife  ;  a  gentleman  who,  misled  by 
representations,  had  been  induced  to  come  from 
India  to  dig  artesian  wells  at  great  expense — 
in  a  country  where  the  natives  are  masters  at 
finding  water  and  making  aqueducts — and  our 
most  excellent  Consul,  Major  Phillott,  one  of 
the  most  practical  and  sensible  men  that  ever 
lived. 

The  Consulate  was  at  Zeris  or  Zirisf,  some 
little  distance  to  the  east  of  the  town.  We 
passed  through  a  graveyard  on  leaving  the  in- 
habited district,  and  had  in  front  of  us  some 
ancient  fortifications  on  the  rocky  hills  to  the 
south,  which  we  skirted,  and  then  came  to  some 


■-*:;?«r^s^^|«^ 


xLii       THE  GOVERNOR  OF  KERMAN       433 

huge  conical  ice-houses — very  old,  but  still  in 
excellent  preservation.  We  passed  the  solidly- 
built  and  foreign-looking  gateway  of  the  Bagh-i- 
Zeris,  and  a  little  further  at  the  end  of  a  short 
avenue  the  British  flag  could  be  seen  flying  upon 
a  gate. 

As  I  came  upon  him  a  ragged  infantry  soldier, 
who,  being  at  his  dinner,  was  busy  licking  his 
fingers,  sprang  to  his  feet  and  made  a  military 
salute.  Having  passed  through  a  court  and  a 
garden  and  a  series  of  dismantled  rooms  I  found 
myself  in  the  Consulate,  where  I  was  greeted 
effusively  by  Major  Phillott,  who  had  no  idea  I 
was  coming,  and  who,  owing  to  my  being  very 
much  sun-tanned,  had  at  first  mistaken  me  for  a 
Persian  !  He  would  not  hear  of  my  remaining 
at  the  Chappar  khana,  and  most  kindly  sent  at 
once  for  all  my  luggage  to  be  brought  up  to  the 
Consulate.  The  hospitality  of  Englishmen  in 
Persia  is  really  unbounded. 

H.  E.  Ala-el-Mulk,  Governor  of  Kerman, 
called  on  the  Consul  that  same  afternoon,  and  I 
was  able  to  present  the  letter  I  had  brought  to 
him.  Having  lived  long  in  Europe  Ala-el-Mulk 
is  a  most  fluent  French  scholar,  and,  being  a  man 
of  considerable  talent,  sense,  and  honesty  he  is 
rather  adverse  to  the  empty  show  and  pomp 
which  is  ever  deemed  the  necessary  accompani- 
ment of  high-placed  officials  in  Persia.  He  can 
be  seen  walking  through  the  town  with  only  a 
servant  or  two,  or  riding  about  inspecting  every 
nook  of  his  city  hardly  attended  at  all.  This, 
curiously  enough,  has  not  shocked  tlic  natives  as 

VOL.  I  F    F 


434  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

people  feared,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  inspired 
them  with  intense  respect  for  the  new  Governor, 
whose  tact,  gentleness,  consideration  and  justice 
were  fully  appreciated  by  the  whole  town  ;  so 
that,  after  all,  it  is  pleasant  to  notice  that  the 
lower  classes  of  Persia  have  more  common  sense 
and  power  of  differentiation  than  they  have 
hitherto  been  credited  with. 

"  When  I  want  anything  well  done,"  said  the 
Governor  to  me,  "  I  do  it  myself.  I  want  the 
welfare  of  my  people  and  am  only  glad  when  I 
can  see  with  my  own  eyes  that  they  get  it.  I 
inspect  my  soldiers,  I  see  them  drilled  before 
me  ;  I  go  to  the  bazaar  to  talk  to  the  people, 
and  any  one  can  come  to  talk  to  me.  Nobody 
need  be  afraid  of  coming  to  me  ;  I  am  ever 
ready  to  listen  to  all." 

Although  this    innovation    in    the    system    of 

impressing   the    crowds    created    somewhat  of  a 

sensation  at  first,  the  Governor  soon  managed  to 

impress  the  people  with  his  own  personality,  and 

he    is    now    extraordinarily    popular    among    all 

classes,     except    the    semi-official,    who    cannot 

carry  on  their  usual  extortions  with  impunity. 

He  asked  me  to  go    and   inspect   his  troops, 

whom  he  had  drilled  before  his  own  eyes  every 

morning,  and  undoubtedly,  of  all  the  soldiers  I 

had  seen  in   Persia,  they  were   the  only  ones — 

barring  the  Cossack  regiments  drilled  by  Russians 

— that  had  a  real  military  appearance  and  were 

trained  according  to  a  method.     They  were  better 

dressed,   better   fed,   and   more   disciplined   even 

than  the  soldiers  of  Teheran. 


xLii      AN   APPROACHING  CAMPAIGN        435 

The  teaching  of  music  to  recruits  for  the  band 
was  quite  interesting.  The  musical  notes  were 
written  on  a  black-board  and  the  young  fellows 
were  made  to  sing  them  out  in  a  chorus  until 
they  had  learnt  the  whole  melody  by  heart. 
The  boys  had  most  musical  voices  and  quite 
good  musical  ears,  while  their  powers  of 
retention  of  what  they  were  taught  were  quite 
extraordinary,  when  it  was  considered  that  these 
fellows  were  recruited  from  the  lowest  and  most 
ignorant  classes. 

The  garrison  of  Kerman  was  armed  with 
Vrandel  rifles,  an  old,  discarded  European  pattern, 
but  quite  serviceable.  Anyhow,  all  the  men 
possessed  rifles  of  one  and  the  same  pattern, 
which  was  an  advantage  not  noticeable  in  the 
Teheran  troops,  for  instance.  For  Persians,  they 
went  through  their  drill  in  an  accurate  and 
business-like  manner,  mostly  to  the  sound  of 
three  drums,  and  also  with  a  capital  band  playing 
European  brass  instruments. 

The  Governor  took  special  delight  in  showing 
me  several  tents  which  he  had  had  specially 
manufactured  for  his  approaching  campaign,  in 
conjunction  with  British  troops  from  British 
Beluchistan,  against  marauding  Beluch  tribes 
who  had  been  very  troublesome  for  some  time, 
and  who,  being  so  close  to  the  frontier,  were  able 
to  evade  alike  Persian,  Beluch,  and  British  law, 
until  a  joint  movement  against  them  was  made 
from  west  and  east.  H.  E.  Ala-cl-M ulk  told  me 
that  he  intended  to  command  the  expedition 
himself 

F     F     2 


436  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Ala-el-Mulk,  a  man  extraordinarily  courteous 
and  simple  in  manner,  was  former  Persian  Am- 
bassador in  Constantinople.  Through  no  fault 
of  his  own,  owing  to  certain  customs  prevalent 
at  the  Sultan's  court,  the  Shah  during  his  visit  to 
Constantinople  was  unreasonably  displeased,  and 
the  Ambassador  was  recalled.  The  Governorship 
of  distant  Kerman  was  given  him,  but  a  man  like 
Ala-el-Mulk,  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  Persia, 
would  be  more  useful  in  a  higher  position  nearer 
the  capital,  if  not  in  the  capital  itself.  Kerman 
is  a  very  out-of-the-way  place,  and  of  no  very 
great  importance  just  yet,  although,  if  Persia 
develops  as  she  should,  it  will  not  be  many 
years  from  the  present  time  before  Kerman 
becomes  a  place  of  great  importance  to  England. 

However,  Ala-el-Mulk  is,  above  all,  a  philo- 
sopher, and  he  certainly  makes  the  best  of  his 
opportunities.  He  has  to  contend  with  many 
difficulties,  intrigue,  false  dealing,  and  corrup- 
tion being  rampant  even  among  some  of  the 
higher  officials  in  the  town  ;  but  with  his 
sound  judgment  and  patience  he  certainly 
manages  to  keep  things  going  in  a  most  satis- 
factory manner. 

Besides  his  official  business,  and  with  the  aid  of 
his  nephew,  he  superintends  the  manufacture,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  of  the  best,  the  most  char- 
acteristically Persian  carpets  of  the  finest  quality 
and  dyes.  There  are  a  great  many  looms  in  the 
buildings  adjacent  to  the  Palace  and  hundreds 
of  hands  employed  in  the  Governor's  factories. 
He    also    possesses    a    good    collection    of   very 


xLii  KERMAN   CLOTH  437 

ancient  carpets,  from  which  the  modern  ones 
are  copied. 

I  returned  his  visit  at  his  Palace,  where  the 
Consul  and  I  were  received  most  cordially  and 
had  a  lengthy  and  most  interesting  conversation 
with  his  Excellency.  Then  he  showed  me  all 
the    buildings    in   the  Ark. 

Kerman  is  celebrated  for  its  cloth  manufacture 
and  felts.  The  cloth  is  of  fine  worsted,  and  is 
generally  in  pieces  six  yards  long  by  three  quar- 
ters of  a  yard  wide.  It  is  much  used  by  the 
natives,  both  for  hangings  and  for  making  clothes 
for  men  and  women,  being  very  soft  and  durable. 
Embroidered  turbans  and  kamarbands  are  made 
from  these  cloths,  especially  in  white  cloth,  gen- 
erally of  a  fine  quality.  The  process  of  weaving 
these  cloths,  called  inappropriately  "  Kerman 
shawls,"  is  identical  with  that  of  the  loom 
described  at  the  village  of  Bambis  in  Chapter 
XXXVI.  The  material  used  for  the  best 
quality  is  the  selected  fine  wool,  growing  next 
to  the  skin  of  goats.  These  dyed  threads  are 
cut  into  short  lengths  and  woven  into  the  fabric 
by  the  supple  and  agile  fingers  of  the  children 
working,  packed  tight  together,  at  the  looms. 
Some  of  the  best  cloths,  not  more  than  ten  feet 
in  length,  take  as  long  as  a  month  per  foot  in 
their  manufacture,  and  they  realise  very  high 
prices,  even  as  much  as  nine  or  ten  pounds 
sterling  a  yard.  The  design  on  tiie  more 
elaborate  ones  is,  as  in  the  carpets,  learnt  by 
heart,  the  stitches  being  committed  to  memory 
like     the     words     of    a     poem.      This     is     not. 


438  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS      ch.  xlii 

however,  the  case  with  the  simpler  and  cheaper 
ones,  which  are  more  carelessly  done,  a  boy 
reading  out  the  design  from  a  pattern  or  a 
book. 

The  carpet  factories  of  Kerman  are  very  ex- 
tensive, the  process  being  similar  to  that  already 
described  in  a  previous  chapter. 


14 

l       1       1 

'•'■  '■■ 

■^ 

lu. 

1     1 

&k 

AXi)   r-'icT(:iui-:s<jUK  Windows  in    iiik    Mai-r a>>  \ii,    Kkkman. 


SiKKAK  Agha's  Son,   riiic  IIeaii  m    mik  Siikimii  Sk<  i,  Kkk.man. 


CHAPTER  XLIII 

The  Madrassah — "  Peace  on  Abraham  " — The  Hammam — 
Trade  caravanserais — The  Hindoo  caravanserai — Parsees — 
Ancient  fortifications — The  Kala-i-Dukhtar,  or  virgin  fort 
— Speculation — The  Kala-Ardeshir — A  deep  w^ell — Why 
it  w^as  made. 

A  VISIT  to  the  Madrassah  on  the  north  side 
of  the  bazaar  was  extremely  interesting,  it  being 
the  best  preserved  building  of  that  type  I  had  so 
far  seen  in  Persia.  The  Consul  and  I  v^ere 
show^n  round  it  by  the  Son  of  Sirkar  Agha,  the 
head  of  the  Sheikhi  sect,  a  most  dignified  in- 
dividual v^^ith  long  black  cloak  and  ample  white 
turban,  and  with  a  beard  dyed  as  black  as  ink. 
He  conversed  most  intelligently  and  took  great 
delight  in  showing  every  nook  of  the  building. 

The  college  is  only  some  ninety  years  old.  Its 
courts,  its  walls,  its  rooms,  its  dome,  are  most 
beautifully  tiled  all  over,  and,  strange  to  say,  it 
is  kept  in  good  repair  and  the  gardens  are  well 
looked  after.  There  is  a  handsome  lecture-hall, 
with  four  strong  receptacles  high  up  in  the 
corners  of  the  room,  and  fret-work  at  the 
windows,  not  unlike  Egyptian  miisharabeahs. 
Four  very  high  ventilating  shafts  are  constructed 
over  the  buildings  to  keep  the  rooms  cool. 


440  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

*'  Peace  on  Abraham "  reads  an  elaborate 
inscription,  quoted  from  the  Koran,  but  applying 
in  this  case,  Sirkar  Agha's  son  tells  me,  to  the 
founder  of  the  institution.  There  are  other 
inscriptions  on  the  towers  and  ventilating  shafts. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  the  number  of  pupils 
was  two  hundred.  The  adjoining  Hammam 
belonging  to  the  College  was,  to  our  astonish- 
ment, also  shown  us.  Such  baths  are  under- 
ground and  are  reached  by  steps  or  by  a  slippery 
incline.  These  particular  ones  were  very  superior 
and  had  a  beautifully  tiled  entrance,  but  the  door 
itself  was  small  and  always  kept  closed.  The 
first  room  was  domed  with  a  fountain  playing 
in  the  centre  and  platforms,  three  feet  high 
all  round,  on  the  matting  of  which  lay  spread 
a  great  many  cotton  towels,  red  and  blue.  The 
only  light  came  from  a  centre  aperture  in  the 
dome.  High  earthen  jugs  stood  artistically 
resting  against  one  another,  and  a  few  people 
were  dressing  or  undressing  preparatory  to  taking 
or  after  having  taken  a  bath.  This  was  all  that 
was  done  in  this  room. 

Through  a  narrow  slippery  passage  we  entered 
another  room,  where  the  steamy  heat  was  con- 
siderable. There  were  small  sections  round  the 
room  divided  by  a  wall,  like  the  cells  of  a 
monastery,  and  in  each  cell  was  a  tap  of  cold 
water.  Then  we  ascended  through  a  small 
aperture  into  another  and  warmer  room,  spacious 
enough,  but  stifling  with  a  sickening  acid  odour 
of  perspiration  and  fumes  of  over-heated  human 
skins.     The  steam   heat   was  so  great  that  one 


xLiii  THE   HAMMAM  441 

saw  everything  in  a  haze,  and  one  felt  one's 
own  pores  expand  and  one's  clothes  get  quite 
wet  with  the  absorbed  damp  in  the  atmosphere 
over-saturated  with  moisture. 

There  were  two  or  three  men,  stripped  and 
only  with  a  loin  cloth,  lying  down  flat  on  their 
backs, — one  undergoing  massage,  being  thumped 
all  over  ;  another  having  the  hair  of  his  head 
and  beard  dyed  jet-black.  The  reason  that  the 
Persian  hair-dyes  are  so  permanent  is  principally 
because  the  dyeing  is  done  at  such  a  high 
temperature  and  in  such  moist  atmosphere  which 
allows  the  dye  to  get  well  into  the  hair.  When 
the  same  dyes  are  used  at  a  normal  temperature 
the  results  are  never  so  successful.  Further,  a 
third  man  was  being  cleansed  by  violent  rubbing. 
He  needed  it  badly  ;  at  least,  judging  by  the 
amount  of  black  stuff  that  rolled  from  his  skin 
under  the  operator's  fingers.  The  attendants, 
too,  barring  a  loin-cloth,  were  naked. 

With  perspiration  streaming  down  my  cheeks 
I  took  the  photographs  here  reproduced,  and 
then  proceeded  to  a  yet  hotter  small  room — as 
suffocating  a  place  as  one  may  wish  to  enter  in 
one's  lifetime,  or  after  !  One  received  a  posi- 
tive scorching  blow  in  the  face  as  one  entered  it, 
the  heat  was  so  great.  This  is  the  last  chamber, 
and  in  a  corner  is  a  tap  of  cold  water  with  which 
the  skin  is  repeatedly  rinsed  and  made  to  sweat 
several  times  until  the  pores  are  considered  abso- 
lutely clean.  There  were  two  people  lying  down 
in  a  semi-unconscious  state,  and  although  I  was 
only  there  a  few  minutes  I  came  out  quite  limp 


442  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

and  rag-like.  It  ruined  my  watch,  and  only  by 
very  careful  nursing  I  was  able  to  save  my 
camera  from  falling  to  pieces.  On  returning  to 
the  previous  hot  chamber  it  seemed  quite  cool 
by  comparison,  and  when  we  emerged  again  into 
the  open  air,  thermometer  about  90°  in  the  shade, 
one  felt  quite  chilled. 

The  various  trade  caravanserais,  of  which  there 

were  over  a  dozen  in  Kerman  on  either  side  of 

the  main  bazaar   street,  were   quite  interesting. 

They  were  large  courts  with  high  platforms,  six 

to  ten  feet  high,  all  round  them,  the  centre  well, 

enclosed   by  them,   being    tightly    packed    with 

camels,  mules  and  donkeys.    Above  on  the  broad 

platform  lay  all  the  packs  of  merchandise  which 

had  arrived  from  Birjand  and  Afghanistan,  from 

Beluchistan    or  from   India    via   Bandar    Abbas. 

The  shops  and  store  rooms  were  neat  and  had 

wood-work  in  front,  with  gigantic  padlocks  of  a 

primitive  make.     Some,  however,  had  neat  little 

English  padlocks. 

The  most  interesting  to  us,  but  not  the  most 
beautiful,  was  the  Hindoo  caravanserai,  where 
some  forty  British  Hindoo  merchants  carried  on 
their  commerce.  The  place  looked  old  and 
untidy,  and  the  shops  overcrowded  with  cheap 
articles  of  foreign  make,  such  as  are  commonly 
to  be  seen  in  India, — paraffin  lamps,  knives, 
enamelled  ware,  cotton  goods,  indigo,  tea,  sugar 
and  calicos  being  prominent  in  the  shops.  The 
piece  goods  come  mostly  from  Germany  and 
Austria,  the  cottons  from  Manchester. 

The  Hindoos  were  very  civil  and  entertained 


xLiii  THE  VIRGIN  FORT  443 

us  to  tea,  water  melon,  and  a  huge  tray  of  sweets, 
while  a  crowd  outside  gazed  at  the  unusual  sight 
of  Europeans  visiting  the  caravanserais.  The 
merchants  said  that  the  trade  in  cotton,  wool, 
gum  and  dates  was  fairly  good,  and  that,  taking 
things  all  round,  matters  went  well,  but  they  had 
a  great  many  complaints — they  would  not  be 
Hindoos  if  they  had  not — of  petty  quarrels  to  be 
settled  among  themselves  and  with  the  Persians. 
These,  of  course,  arose  mostly  out  of  matters  of 
money.  They  seemed  otherwise  quite  jolly  and 
happy,  notwithstanding  the  exaggerated  hats  and 
curious  costumes  they  are  compelled  to  wear,  so 
that  they  may  be  distinguished  at  a  glance  from 
the  Persians  themselves. 

Here,  too,  as  has  been  already  said,  there  is  a 
small  Parsee  community  of  about  3,000  souls. 
They  are,  however,  rather  scattered  nowadays, 
and  are  not  so  prominent  as  in  Yezd. 

The  side  streets  leading  out  of  the  bazaar  are 
narrow  and  dingy,  covered  up  in  places  with 
awnings  and  matting.  There  is  very  little  else 
worth  seeing  in  the  city,  but  the  many  ruins  to 
the  east  of  the  town  and  the  ancient  fortifications 
are  well  worth  a  visit. 

It  is  to  the  east  of  the  city  that  the  ancient 
fortifications  are  found,  on  the  most  western 
portion  of  the  crescent-shaped  barrier  of  moun- 
tains. According  to  some  natives  the  smaller 
fort,  the  Kala-i-Dukhtar,  or  Virgin  fort,  on  the 
terminal  point  of  the  range,  at  one  time  formed 
part  of  ancient  Kerman.  The  fort,  the  Kala-i- 
Dukhtar   is  on  the  ridge  of  the  hill,  with  a  fairly 


444  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

well-preserved  castellated  wall  and  a  large  door- 
way in  the  perpendicular  rock  at  the  end  of  the 
hill  range. 

In  a  long  semicircular  wall  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  a  row  of  niches  can  be  seen,  but  whether 
these  made  part  of  an  ancient  stable  for  horses, 
or  were  used  for  other  purposes,  I  could  not 
quite  ascertain.  Some  people  said  that  they  were 
a  portion  of  a  hammam  ;  others  said  they  might 
have  been  cells  of  a  prison,  but  what  remained 
of  them  was  not  sufficient  to  allow  one  to  come 
to  a  satisfactory  conclusion. 

The  outside  wall  of  the  fort  was  very  high, 
and  had  strong  battlements  and  towers.  Inside 
the  lower  wall  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  was  a  moat 
from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  wide  and  fifteen 
feet  deep.  The  upper  wall  went  along  the 
summit  of  two  ridges  and  was  parallel  to  the 
lower  one,  which  had  four  large  circular  turrets, 
and  extended  down  to  and  over  the  flat  for  some 
1 20  yards.  There  was  another  extensive  but 
much  demolished  fortress  to  the  east  of  this 
on  the  lower  part  of  the  hill  range,  guarding 
the  other  side  of  the  entrance  of  the  pass,  and 
this,  too,  had  two  large  walled  enclosures  in  the 
plain  at  its  foot.  A  great  many  fragments  of 
pottery  with  angular  geometrical  patterns  and 
small  circles  upon  them  were  to  be  found  here 
and  in  the  neighbourhood. 

The  fort  of  Kala-i-Dukhtar  is  attributed  by 
the  people  to  King  Ardishir,  and  is  one  of  the 
three  mentioned  by  Mukaddasi  in  the  tenth 
century,  who,  in  describing  the  city  of  Bardasir, 


iiK  Hot  Room  in  a  Pkr^ian  IImii. 


I  III,    KaI  A-l-l>l'Kin  Ak    OK    ViK'lIN     I'oKI. 
( l\.ala  Ardi-^liir  on  simnnil  n|    niouniaiii)  Kt-rmnii. 


xLiii  THE  KALA  ARDESHIR  445 

unmistakably  identified  with  the  present  Kerman, 
speaks  of  the  three  famous  impregnable  castles — 
the  Hisn  defended  by  a  ditch,  evidently  the  one 
above  described,  directly  outside  the  city  gate, 
and  the  old  castle,  the  Kala-i-Kuh,  on  the  crest 
of  the  hill.  It  has  been  assumed  that  the  third 
castle  mentioned  by  Mukaddasi,  was  where  the 
Ark  or  citadel  is  now,  but  personally  I  doubt 
whether  this  is  correct.  The  citadel,  the 
residence  of  the  present  Governor,  is  to  my  mind 
of  much  more  recent  origin.  There  is  every 
sign  to  make  one  doubt  whether  Kerman 
extended  in  those  days  as  far  west  as  the  citadel, 
which  to-day  occupies  the  most  western  point 
outside  the  city  ;  whereas  in  the  accounts  of 
Mukaddasi  one  would  be  led  to  understand  that 
the  third  fortress  was  well  within  the  city  near  a 
great  mosque.  In  Persian  chronicles,  too,  the 
Hill  Castle,  the  old,  and  the  new  castles  are 
often  referred  to,  but  personally  I  believe  that 
these  three  castles  were  adjoining  one  another 
on  the  same  chain  of  hills. 

An  ascent  to  the  Kala  Ardeshir  well  repays 
the  trouble  of  getting  there.  It  is  not  possible 
to  reach  the  Castle  from  the  south  side,  where 
the  rocky  hills  are  very  precipitous,  and  even 
from  the  north  it  is  not  easy  of  access.  On  the 
north-west  side,  facing  the  British  Consulate,  there 
is  a  somewhat  narrow  and  slippery  track  in  the 
rock  along  a  ravine,  by  which — in  many  places 
"  on  all  fours  " — one  can  get  up  to  the  top. 

The  gateway  is  very  much  blocked  with  sand, 
but  squeezing  through  a  small  aperture  one  can 


446  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS     ch.  xliii 

eet  inside  the  wall,  within  which  are  several 
small  courts,  and  a  series  of  tumbled-down  small 
buildings.  In  the  walls  can  still  be  seen  some  of 
the  receptacles  in  which  grain  and  food  were 
formerly  stored. 

Although  the  exterior  of  the  castle,  resting 
on  the  solid  rock  and  built  of  sun-dried  bricks  so 
welded  together  by  age  as  to  form  a  solid  mass, 
appears  in  fair  preservation  from  a  distance,  when 
one  examines  the  interior  it  is  found  to  be  in  a 
dreadful  state  of  decay.  The  courts  and  spaces 
between  the  walls  are  now  filled  up  with  sand. 
There  is  a  well  of  immense  depth,  bored  in  the 
rock,  the  fort  standing  some  five  hundred  feet 
above  the  plain  ;  but  although  this  is  said  by  some 
writers  to  have  been  a  way  of  escape  from  this 
fortress  to  as  distant  a  place  as  Khabis,  some  forty- 
five  miles  as  the  crow  flies  to  the  east  of  Kerman, 
I  never  heard  this  theory  expounded  in  Kerman 
itself,  but  in  any  case,  it  is  rather  strange  that 
the  well  should  have  been  made  so  small  in 
diameter  as  hardly  to  allow  the  passage  of  a 
man,  its  shaft  being  bored  absolutely  perpen- 
dicular for  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  feet  and 
its  sides  perfectly  smooth,  so  that  an  attempt 
to  go  down  it  would  be  not  a  way  of  escape 
from  death,  but  positive  suicide.  The  well  was 
undoubtedly  made  to  supply  the  fort  with  water 
whenever  it  became  impracticable  to  use  the 
larger  wells  and  tanks  constructed  at  the  foot  of 
the  hills  within  the  fortification  walls. 


i  .? 


CHAPTER    XLIV 

The  deserted  city  of  Farmidan — More  speculation — The 
Afghan  invasion — Kerman  surrenders  to  AghaMuhammed 
Khan — A  cruel  oppressor — Luft-Ali-Khan  to  the  rescue — 
The  Zoroastrians — Mahala  Giabr — Second  Afghan  inva- 
sion— Luft-Ali-Khan's  escape — Seventy  thousand  human 
eyes — Women  in  slavery — Passes — An  outpost — Fire 
temples — Gigantic  inscriptions — A  stiff  rock  climb — A 
pilgrimage  for  sterile  women — A  Russian  picnic — A  Per- 
sian dinner — Fatabad — The  trials  of  abundance — A  Persian 
menu — Rustamabad — Lovely  fruit  garden. 

The  very  large  deserted  city  of  Farmidan  lies 
directly  south  of  the  mountainous  crescent  on 
which  are  found  the  fortifications  described  in 
the  previous  chapter.  The  houses  of  the  city  do 
not  appear  very  ancient,  their  v^alls  being  in  ex- 
cellent preservation,  but  not  so  the  domed  roofs 
which  have  nearly  all  fallen  in.  The  houses  are 
entirely  constructed  of  sun-dried  mud  bricks,  now 
quite  soldered  together  by  age  and  reduced  into 
a  compact  mass.  A  few  of  the  more  important 
dwellings  have  two  storeys,  and  all  the  buildings 
evidently  had  formerly  domed  roofs.  In  order 
that  the  conformation  of  each  house  may  be 
better  understood,  a  plan  of  one  typical  building 
is  given.      On  a  larger  or  smaller  scale   they  all 


448  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

resembled  one  another  very  closely,  and  were  not 
unlike  the  Persian  houses  of  to-day. 

There  was  a  broad  main  road  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  along  the  southern  side  of  which 
the  city  had  been  built,  with  narrow  and  tortuous 
streets  leading  out  of  the  principal  thoroughfare. 
Curiously  enough,  however,  this  city  appeared 
not  to  have  had  a  wall  round  it  like  most  other 
cities  one  sees  in  Persia.  It  is  possible  that  the 
inhabitants  relied  on  taking  refuge  in  the  strength 
and  safety  of  the  forts  above,  but  more  probable 
seems  the  theory  that  Farmidan  was  a  mere 
settlement,  a  place  of  refuge  of  the  Zoroastrians 
who  had  survived  the  terrible  slaughter  by  Agha 
Muhammed  Khan. 

It  may  be  remembered  that  when  the  Afghan 
determined  to  regain  his  throne  or  die,  he  came 
over  the  Persian  frontier  from  Kandahar.  He 
crossed  the  Salt  Desert  from  Sistan,  losing  thou- 
sands of  men,  horses  and  camels  on  the  way,  and 
with  a  large  army  still  under  his  command, 
eventually  occupied  Kerman. 

Kerman  was  in  those  days  a  most  flourishing 
commercial  centre,  with  bazaars  renowned  for 
their  beauty  and  wealth,  and  its  forts  were  well 
manned  and  considered  impregnable.  So  unex- 
pected, however,  was  the  appearance  of  such 
a  largfe  army  that  the  inhabitants  made  no  resist- 
ance and  readily  bowed  to  the  sovereignty  of 
Agha  Muhammed.  They  were  brutally  treated 
by  the  oppressors.  Luft-Ali-Khan  hastened  from 
the  coast  to  the  relief  of  the  city,  and  fiercely 
attacked  and  defeated  the  Afghan  invader,  who 


xLiv  RUINS  OF   FARMIDAN  449 

was  compelled  to  retreat  to  Kandahar  ;  but 
Kerman  city,  which  had  undergone  terrible 
oppression  from  the  entry  of  the  Afghans,  fared 
no  better  at  the  hands  of  the  Persians.  The 
Zoroastrians  of  Kerman  particularly  were  mas- 
sacred wholesale  or  compelled  to  adopt  the 
Mahommedan  religion. 

It  is  not  unlikely — although  I  assume  no 
responsibility  for  the  statement — that  at  that 
time  the  Zoroastrians,  who  were  still  numerous 
in  Kerman,  driven  from  their  homes  by  the 
invading  Afghan  and  Persian  armies,  settled 
a  few  miles  from  the  city,  unable  to  proceed 
further  afield  owing  to  the  desolate  nature  of  the 
country  all  round.  With  no  animals,  no  means 
of  subsistence,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
them  with  their  families  to  go  much  further 
en  masse  in  a  country  where  food  and  even 
water  are  not  easily  obtainable.  The  name  of 
the  town — Farmidan — also  would  point  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  had  been  inhabited  by  Fars, 
and  the  age  attributed  to  the  city  by  the  natives 
corresponds  roughly  with  the  epoch  of  the 
Afghan   invasion. 

To  the  north  of  Kerman  city  we  have  another 
similar  settlement,  now  deserted,  Mahala-Giabr 
(a  corruption  of  Guebre),  of  which  there  is  little 
doubt  that  it  was  inhabited  by  Zoroastrians.  One 
of  the  reasons  that  these  cities  are  now  deserted 
may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Agha  Muhammed, 
having  raised  another  army  in  Afghanistan,  pro- 
ceeded a  second  time  to  the  conquest  of  Persia. 
The  Zoroastrians,  who  had   fared   worse  at  the 

VOL.    I  G    G 


450  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

hands  of  Luft-Ali-Khan  than  under  the  Afghan 
rule,  were  persuaded  to  join  Agha  Muhammed 
against  their  Perso-Arab  oppressors,  in  hopes  of 
obtaining  some  reHef  to  their  misery,  but  history 
does  not  relate  what  became  of  them.  They 
were  never  heard  of  again.  One  fact  only  is 
known,  that  very  few  of  those  living  in  Kerman 
at  the  time  succeeded  in  escaping  massacre. 
That  previous  to  this  the  Zoroastrians  must  have 
been  very  numerous  in  Kerman  can  be  judged 
by  the  remains  of  many  fire-temples  to  be  seen, 
especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city. 

In  his  second  invasion  of  Persia  Agha  Mu- 
hammed again  reached  Kerman  in  1795  and 
besieged  the  city  defended  by  Luft-Ali-Khan. 
The  inhabitants,  who  had  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  their  saviours  as  much  if  not  more  than  at 
those  of  their  oppressors,  made  a  half-hearted 
resistance  and  eventually,  in  the  thick  of  the 
fighting,  the  city  gates  were  opened  by  treachery. 
Luft-Ali-Khan  and  a  handful  of  his  faithful  men 
fought  like  lions  in  the  streets  of  the  city,  but  at 
last,  seeing  that  all  hope  of  victory  had  vanished, 
and  forsaken  by  most  of  his  men,  Luft-Ali-Khan 
rode  full  gallop  in  the  midst  of  the  Afghans. 
According  to  chronicles,  he  defiantly  ran  the 
gauntlet  with  only  three  followers,  and  they 
were  able  to  force  their  way  through  the  Kajar 
post  and  escape  to  Bam-Narmanshir,  the  most 
eastern  part  of  the  Kerman  province,  on  the 
borders  of  Sistan. 

Agha  Muhammed  demanded  the  surrender  of 
Luft-Ali-Khan  ;    the  city  was   searched   to   find 


Ri  iM-.ii    II<.)r>K>  oi-    FAk\in,\.\. 


Door,.r,y  JZ  ft  high Door 


•  STokcn. 
I  Wall 


LiLLJd 

I'f.AN    OK    IIolSK    Al     1-  \K\Iir\N. 


xLiv         A  BARBAROUS  CONQUEROR  451 

him,  and  when  it  was  learned  that  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  an  escape,  the  wrath  of  the 
Afghan  knew  no  bounds.  The  people  having 
declared  that  they  could  not  find  Luft-Ali,  he 
ordered  70,000  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  to  be 
brought  to  him  on  trays,  and  is  said  to  have 
counted  them  himself  with  the  point  of  a  dagger. 
But  this  punishment  he  believed  to  be  still  too 
lenient.  A  general  massacre  of  the  men  was 
commanded,  and  no  less  than  20,000  women  and 
children  were  made  into  slaves.  To  this  day  the 
proverbially  easy  morals  of  the  Kerman  women 
are  attributed  to  the  Afghan  invasion,  when  the 
women  became  the  concubines  of  soldiers  and 
lost  all  respect  for  themselves  ;  and  so  is  the  im- 
portation of  the  dreadful  disease  which  in  its 
most  virulent  form  is  pitifully  common  in  a 
great  portion  of  the  population  of  the  present 
Kerman  city.  According  to  some  the  city  was 
razed  to  the  ground,  but  whether  this  was  so  or 
not,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Kerman  has  never 
recovered  from  the  blow  received,  and  from  the 
subsequent  oppression  at  the  hands  of  this  bar- 
barous conqueror. 

In  the  south-west  part  of  the  mountainous 
crescent  are  three  very  low  passes,  by  which  the 
hill  range  can  be  crossed.  One  pass  between  the 
Kala-i-Dukhtar  and  the  Kala-Ardeshir  forts  ;  one 
between  the  Kala-Ardeshir  and  the  ruins  south 
of  it  along  the  southern  continuation  of  the 
range  ;  and  the  third  at  the  most  southern  point 
of  the  crescent,  where  the  precipitous  rocky  hill- 
ranges  are  separated  by  a  narrow  gap,  level   with 

G   G   2 


452  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS         chap. 

the  flat  plains  on  either  side.  One  can  still  see 
the  remains  of  a  ruined  wall  on  the  east  side  of 
this  entrance,  a  round,  outpost  mud  turret,  with 
other  buildings  and  a  large  walled  enclosure 
directly  outside  the  pass  on  the  flat  to  the  south  ; 
while  on  the  lower  slope  of  the  eastern  moun- 
tain stands  a  tall  square  building,  now  roof- 
less, erected  on  a  strong  quadrangular  base  with 
corner  turrets.  It  has  three  pointed  arch  door- 
ways (east,  west,  south),  almost  as  tall  as  the 
building  itself,  and  by  the  side  of  these  are  found 
high  and  broad  windows  in  couples.  This 
building  appears  to  be  of  a  much  more  recent 
date  than  the  underlying  castle  filled  up  with 
earth  on  which  it  stands.  It  has  rather  the 
appearance  of  a  fire  temple. 

On  going  through  the  pass  we  find  ourselves 
in  the  centre  basin  formed  by  the  mountainous 
crescent,  and  here  we  have  another  deserted 
settlement  smaller  than  Farmidan,  also  to  all 
appearance  not  more  than  a  century  old,  and 
directly  under  the  lee  of  the  precipitous  rocky 
mountains.  A  high  building  of  a  rich  burnt- 
sienna  colour,  with  a  dome  of  stone  and  mortar — 
the  latter  said  to  have  been  mixed  with  camel's 
milk,  which  gives  the  mortar  greater  consistency 
— is  to  be  seen  here.  This,  too,  is  supposed  to 
have  been  a  fire  temple.  Its  base  is  quadrangular, 
with  two  tiers  of  three  windows  each.  A  small 
lateral  wall  is  next  to  the  entrance,  but  nothing 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  interior  except  the  bare  walls. 

Fast  of  this,  on  the  face  of  the  cliff  and  several 
hundred  feet  above  the   valley,  one   is  shown  a 


PHOTOGRAPHY  UNDER  DIFFICULTY    453 

gigantic  inscription,  *'  Ya  Ali,"  in  white  charac- 
ters depicted  on  the  rock.  The  letters  are  so  big 
that  they  can  be  seen  from  Kerman,  about  three 
miles  off.  This  is  a  pilgrimage  well  worth 
making,  for  they  say  every  wish  of  those  who 
climb  up  to  the  inscription  will  come  true.  Two 
qualities  are  required — a  very  steady  head  and  the 
agility  of  a  monkey.  The  angle  of  the  rock  is 
very  steep, — almost  vertical,  as  can  be  seen  on  the 
left  side  of  the  photograph,  which  I  took  from 
the  site  of  the  inscription  looking  down  upon 
the  ruined  city  and  the  whole  Kerman  plain. 
The  only  way  by  which, — on  all  fours, — one  can 
climb  up  is  so  worn,  greasy  and  slippery,  owing 
to  the  many  pilgrims  who  have  glided  up  and 
down,  that  it  is  most  difficult  to  get  a  grip  on  the 
rock. 

Yet  the  going-up  is  much  easier  than  the 
coming  down.  The  full-page  illustration  shows 
the  man  who  accompanied  me  just  about  to 
reach  the  inscription, — I  took  the  photograph  as 
I  clung  to  the  rock  just  below  him,  as  can  be 
seen  from  the  distortion  of  his  lower  limbs 
caused  by  my  being  unable  to  select  a  suitable 
position  from  which  to  take  the  photograph. 
We  were  then  clinging  to  the  rock  with  a  drop 
below  us  in  a  straight  line  of  several  hundred 
feet. 

We  reached  the  inscription  safely  enough, 
and  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice — the 
only  place  where  we  could  sit — with  our  legs 
dangling  over  it.  Screened  as  we  were  in 
deep  shadow,  we   obtained   a   magnificent  bird's- 


454  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

eye  view  of  the  Kerman  plain,  brilliantly  lighted 
by  the  morning  sun,  and  of  the  forts  to  our  left 
(south-west)  and  the  many  ruins  down  below 
between  ourselves  and  Kerman  city.  A  bed  of 
a  stream,  now  dry,  wound  its  way  from  these 
mountains  to  almost  the  centre  of  the  plain, 
where  it  lost  itself  in  the  sand  beyond  a  cluster  of 
ruined  buildings.  Undoubtedly  at  some  previous 
time  this  torrent  carried  a  good  volume  of  water 
to  the  village,  and  this  accounts  for  the  deserted 
settlement  being  found  there. 

The  letters  of  the  inscription  were  ten  feet 
high,  painted  white. 

The  man  who  had  climbed  up  with  me 
related  an  amusing  incident  of  the  occasion  when 
H.  E.  the  Governor  of  the  city  was  persuaded 
to  climb  to  inspect  the  inscription.  Hauled  up 
with  the  assistance  of  ropes  and  servants,  he 
became  so  nervous  when  he  reached  the 
inscription  and  looked  down  upon  the  precipice 
below  that  he  offered  a  huge  reward  if  they 
took  him  down  again  alive.  Although  other- 
wise a  brave  man  he  was  unaccustomed  to 
mountaineering,  and  owing  to  the  great  height, 
had  been  seized  with  vertigo  and  was  absolutely 
helpless  and  unable  to  move.  With  considerable 
difficulty  he  was  hauled  down  and  safely  conveyed 
to  his  palace. 

The  descent  presented  more  difficulty  than 
the  ascent,  and  one's  shoes  had  to  be  removed  to 
effect  it  in  more  safety.  Eventually  we  reached 
the  bottom  again  where,  in  a  gully  is  a  small 
ruined  temple  and  a  mud  hut  or  two. 


A   SiKKi'   Kill  K  Cii.Mi;,    Kkkman. 
I'liolograpli  of  (iuiflc  hikcii  \iy  llit-  Aullior  <iii  loacliiiii;  tin.'  Iiiscii|)liiiii  i-cvci;il  IniiKlnd 

fuel  aljovc  ihc  jilaip. 


xLiv  PILGRIMAGE  FOR  STERILE  WOMEN  455 

A  great  many  women,  who  from  this  point 
had  been  watching  us  come  down  along  the  face 
of  the  cliff,  stampeded  away,  giggling,  at  our 
approach,  and  on  my  asking  why  so  many 
representatives  of  the  fair  sex  were  to  be  found 
here — there  were  lots  more  dotting  the  landscape 
below  in  their  white  or  black  chudders,  all  con- 
verging towards  this  point — it  was  explained 
that,  a  few  yards  off,  was  a  rock  possessing 
marvellous  properties.  The  rock  in  question 
forms  part  of  the  mountain-side,  and  in  its 
natural  formation  coarsely  suggests,  much 
magnified,  the  effigy  of  a  component  of  feminine 
anatomy.  At  the  foot  of  it  there  was  an 
inscription  and  certain  offerings,  while  above  it, 
in  a  recess,  a  large  wax  candle  was  burning. 
Near  this  stone  a  stunted  tree  was  to  be  seen, 
laden  with  bits  of  red  and  white  rags  and  various 
kinds  of  hair — a  most  unedifying  sight. 

This  is  a  well-known  pilgrimage  for  sterile 
women,  who,  after  certain  exorcisms  in  front  of 
and  on  the  divine  stone,  and  a  night  or  two 
spent  in  the  neighbouring  ruins,  are  said  infallibly 
to  become  prolific.  The  neighbouring  ruins,  it 
should  be  added,  are  the  favourite  night  resort  of 
the  Kerman  young  men  in  search  of  romantic 
adventure,  and  a  most  convenient  rendezvous  for 
flirtations ;  but  whether  the  extraordinary  qualities 
of  prolificness  are  really  due  to  the  occult  power 
of  the  magic  stone  or  to  the  less  mystic  charms 
of  nights  spent  away  from  home,  the  reader  is  no 
doubt  better  able  to  discriminate  than  I.  Judging 
by   the  long    strings   of  ladies   of  all   ages   to  be 


456  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

seen  going  on  the  pilgrimage,  one  would  almost 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  half  the  women  of 
Kerman  are  in  a  bad  plight,  or  else  that  the 
other  half  only  is  a  good  lot  ! 

Much  unsuspected  amusement  was  provided 
to  the  natives  by  a  Russian  political  agent  who 
had  visited  Kerman  a  few  weeks  before  I  did, 
with  the  intention — it  was  stated — of  starting 
a  Consulate  there  and  a  caravanserai  to  fur- 
ther Russian  trade.  Previous  to  his  departure, 
attracted  merely  by  the  lovely  view  from  the 
pilgrimage  stone,  and  absolutely  unaware  of 
what  misconstruction  might  be  placed  on  his 
hospitality,  the  Russian  gave  a  picnic  at  this  spot 
to  the  tiny  European  community  of  Kerman. 
Needless  to  say,  the  evil-minded  Persians  of 
course  put  a  wrong  construction  upon  the  whole 
thing,  and  a  good  deal  of  merriment  was  caused 
among  the  natives — who  may  lack  many  other 
qualities,  but  not  wit — by  the  sahibs  going  en 
masse  to  the  pilgrimage. 

The  Russian  picnic  was  the  talk  of  the  bazaar 
when  I  was  there,  and  will  probably  remain  so 
for  some  little  time. 

We  will  now  leave  ruins  and  puzzling  pilgrim- 
ages alone,  and  will  accept  an  invitation  to  a 
substantial  Persian  dinner  with  Hussein-Ali- 
Khan,  known  by  the  title  of  Nusrat-al-Mamalik, 
and  probably  the  richest  man  in  the  province  ot 
Kerman.  At  great  expense  and  trouble,  this 
man  bought  an  English  carriage,  for  the  pleasure 
of  driving  in  which  he  actually  made  a  road 
several  miles  long.      He  kindly  sent  the  carriage 


xLiv  A  PERSIAN   DINNER  457 

for  the  Consul  and  me  to  drive  to  his  place,  and 
had  relays  of  horses  half-way  on  the  road  so  that 
we  could  gallop  the  whole  way.  He  has  planted 
trees  all  along  the  new  road,  and  brought  water 
down  from  the  hills  by  a  canal  along  the  roadside 
in  order  to  provide  sufficient  moisture  to  make 
them  grow. 

When  we  reached  Fatabad — that  was  the 
name  of  the  village  close  to  which  our  host's 
country  residence  stood — we  alighted  at  a  most 
beautiful  avenue  of  high  trees  on  either  side  of  a 
long  tank  of  limpid  water,  in  which  gracefully 
floated  dozens  of  swans  and  ducks.  We  were 
met  at  the  gate  by  our  host,  a  charming  old 
fellow,  and  his  son,  Mahommed  Ali  Khan,  a 
most  intelligent  young  man.  Surrounded  by  a 
crowd  of  servants  we  were  shown  round  the 
beautiful  garden,  with  its  rare  plants  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  its  well-cared-for  flowers, 
and  its  fruit  trees  of  every  imaginable  kind. 
There  was  a  handsome  house  built  in  semi- 
European  style  and  with  European  furniture  in 
it.  On  a  table  in  the  dining-room  were  spread 
a  great  many  trays  of  sweets.  After  the  usual 
compliments  dinner  was  brought  in  by  a  long 
row  of  attendants,  who  carried  tray  after  tray 
full  of  delicacies,  part  of  which  they  deposited  on 
the  table,  the  rest  on  the  floor. 

Our  host,  with  much  modesty,  asked  us  to  sit 
at  the  table,  and  he  and  his  Persian  friends  sat 
themselves  on  the  floor.  We — the  Consul,  the 
two  other  Englishmen,  residents  of  Kerman,  and 
myself,  however — declined  to  take  advantage  of 


458  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

his  offer  and  declared  that  we  should  all  sit  on 
the  floor  in  the  best  Persian  style,  an  attention 
which  was  greatly  appreciated  by  our  host  and 
by  his  friends. 

It  was  with  some  dismay  that  I  saw  more 
trays  of  food  being  conveyed  into  the  room,  until 
the  whole  floor  was  absolutely  covered  with 
trays,  large  and  small,  and  dishes,  cups  and 
saucers,  all  brim-full  or  something  or  other  to 
eat. 

Persian  food  ot  the  better  kind  and  in  modera- 
tion is  not  at  all  bad  nor  unattractive.  It  is  quite 
clean, — cleaner,  if  it  comes  to  that,  than  the 
general  run  of  the  best  European  cooking.  The 
meat  is  ever  fresh  and  good,  the  chickens  never 
too  high — in  fact,  only  killed  and  bled  a  few 
minutes  before  they  are  cooked  ;  the  eggs 
always  newly  laid  in  fact,  and  not  merely  in 
theory,  and  the  vegetables  ever  so  clean  and 
tasty.  As  for  the  fruit  of  Central  and  Southern 
Persia,  it  is  eminently  excellent  and  plentiful. 

The  Persians  themselves  eat  with  their  fingers, 
which  they  duly  wash  before  beginning  their 
meals,  but  we  were  given  silver  forks  and  spoons 
and  best  EngUsh  knives.  Really  to  enjoy  a  Per- 
sian meal,  however,  one's  fingers  are  quite  unap- 
proachable by  any  more  civilised  device. 

The  most  sensible  part  of  a  Persian  meal  is  its 
comparative  lack  of  method  and  order,  anybody 
picking  wherever  he  likes  from  the  many  dishes 
displayed  in  the  centre  of  the  room  and  all  round 
him  ;  but  any  one  endowed  with  digestive  organs 
of  moderate  capacity  feels  some  apprehension  at 


vr"-:;  -?u*   ;-*£>»■'■ 


^XSESr-^S^a 


•?i£»^ 


A  \'iK\v  ()i--    rnK  Kkkman    I'l  aix  from    ihe  "  Va  Ai.i  "'   Inscnii'TIdn. 

(How  steep  the  ascent  to  the  inscription  is  can  l)e  seen  by  the  mountain  side  on 

left  of  observer.) 


\ 


^ 


■^' 


WivKs  Rbtukm.n(;   ikum    iiii,   I'ih.uimai.k  ii>i<  Sii.kiii.  WoMKN. 


XLIV 


THE  MENU 


459 


the  mountains  of  rice  and  food  which  are  placed 
before  one,  and  is  expected  to  devour.  A  Euro- 
pean who  wants  to  be  on  his  best  behaviour 
finds  the  last  stages  of  a  Persian  dinner  a  positive 
trial,  and  is  reminded  very  forcibly  of  the  terrible 
fable  of  the  frog  that  tried  to  emulate  the  cow. 
To  show  the  reader  to  what  test  of  expansion 
one's  capacity  is  put,  no  better  evidence  can  be 
given  than  a  faithful  enumeration  of  the  viands 
spread  before  us  at  the  dinner  here  described,  all 
of  which  we  were  made  to  taste. 


Oalam  palajo 

= 

Cabbage  pilao. 

Chila-o 

= 

White  rice  with   a  soupcon  of 
butter. 

Khurish-i-murgh-i 

i-badinjan  = 

Stew  of  chicken  with  tomatoes. 

Kabab-i-chuja 

= 

Broiled  chicken. 

Shami 

= 

Meat  sausages. 

Dulmayi  qalam 

= 

Meat  wrapped  in  cabbage  leaves 
with  onions  and  beans. 

Ab-gusht 

= 

Soup  with  a  lump  of  meat. 

Halwa 

= 

A  dish  of  honey,  pistache,  and 
camel's  milk. 

Ku-ku 

= 

Omelette  of  eggs  and  vegetables. 

Mushta 

= 

Rissoles. 

Mast 

= 

Curds. 

Kharbuza 

= 

Melon. 

Panir 

= 

Cheese. 

Turb 

= 

Radishes. 

Pista 

= 

Pistachio  nuts. 

Anar 

= 

Pomegranates. 

Zaban-i-gaw 

= 

Green  bombes. 

Turshi 

= 

Pickles  of  all  sorts. 

Rishta 

^ 

White    and    green    vermicelli 
cakes. 

Murabba  bihi 

= 

Preserved  gum. 

To  these  must  be  added   the   numerous  sweets 
of  which  one  has  to  partake  freely  before  dinner. 


460  ACROSS  COVETED  LANDS  chap. 

Through  dinner  only  water  is  drunk,  or  nothing 
at  all,  but  before  and  after,  tea — three-quarters 
sugar  and  one  quarter  tea,  with  no  milk, — is 
served,  and  also  delicious  coffee. 

The  capacity  of  Persians  is  enormous,  and  on 
trying  to  emulate  it  we  all  suffered  considerably. 
So  pressing  were  our  hosts  to  make  us  eat  some 
of  this  and  some  of  that,  and  to  taste  some  of  the 
other,  that  by  the  time  we  had  finished  we  were 
all  in  a  semi-conscious  state.  An  attendant 
passed  round  a  brass  bowl  and  poured  upon  our 
fingers,  from  a  graceful  amphora,  tepid  water 
with  rose-leaf  scent.  Then  our  host  very  con- 
siderately had  us  led  to  the  upper  floor  of  the 
building  to  a  deliciously  cool  room,  wherein  were 
soft  silk  broad  divans  with  velvet  pillows.  Five 
minutes  later,  one  in  each  corner  of  the  room, 
we  were  all  fast  asleep.  It  is  the  custom  in 
Persia  to  have  a  siesta  after  one's  meals — one 
needs  it  badly  when  one  is  asked  out  to  dinner. 
So  for  a  couple  of  hours  we  were  left  to  ourselves, 
while  our  hosts  retired  to  their  rooms.  Then 
more  tea  was  brought,  more  coffee,  more  sweets. 

We  paid  an  interesting  visit  to  the  village  ot 
Fatabad,  the  older  portion  of  which,  formerly 
called  Rustamabad,  had  from  a  distance  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  strongly  fortified  place.  It  had  a 
high  broad  wall  with  four  circular  towers  at  the 
corners,  and  quite  an  imposing  gateway.  The 
interior  of  the  village  was  curious,  the  habita- 
tions being  adjacent  to  the  village  wall  all  round, 
and  each  room  having  a  perforated  dome  over  it. 
There   was    spacious    stabhng    on    one    side    for 


XLIV 


FATABAD  461 


horses,  and  several  irregular  courts  in  the  centre  of 
the  village.  A  long  wall  stretched  from  this  village 
to  the  Fatabad  gardens  and  palatial  dw^elling  of 
Hussein-Ali-Khan,  and  on  one  side  of  this  wall 
were  nicely  kept  wheat  fields,  while  on  the  other 
lay  a  capital  fruit  garden. 

In  the  new  village  of  Fatabad,  directly  outside 
the  wall  of  Rustamabad,  there  were  but  few 
houses,  with  an  interesting  underground  hammam, 
with  water  coming  from  natural  mineral  springs 
brought  here  from  the  village  of  Ikhtiyarabad, 
some  little  distance  off.  Behind  this  village,  to 
the  west,  a  barrier  of  high  rugged  hills  closed 
the  horizon  before  us,  and  made  the  view  a  most 
delightfully  picturesque  one. 

In  the  evening,  in  the  same  grand  carriage, 
we  were  again  conveyed  back  to  Kerman,  as  I 
intended  to  start  at  midnight  on  my  journey 
across  the  Great  Salt  Desert. 


END    OF    VOL.     I 


RICHARD   CLAV   ANL   SONS,    LIMITED,    LONDON    AND    Dl  NCAV. 


SKETCH   MAP  SHOWING  ROUTE  FOLLOWED  BY  AUTHOR 

AND   PRINCIPAL  TRACKS  BETWEEN   KUM 

AND  KERMAN  (Persia). 

Drawn  by  A    Henry  Savage  Landor 


*  •»<  .         11,1 


Ni 


^^.Jfenrv  Ja'ttae  ZanOori  Saute. 


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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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